[ Inquirer ] PH military to boost arsenal with South Korean hardware
A team of defense and military officers was in South Korea last week for a joint visual inspection of used rocket systems and a surplus warship that will be handed over by the Seoul government, security officials familiar with the matter told INQUIRER.net.
The Philippine Army and Philippine Marine Corps are likely to be recipients of 22 Kooryong multiple launch rocket systems from the Korean Army. These would include equipment and ammunition. These were expected to be handed over to the Philippines in the next few months though this was first publicly announced in 2019.
Philippine Navy representatives examined the decommissioned Pohang-class corvette ROKS Andong (PCC-771) at the Jinhae naval base in South Korea. It was found to be in “good operating condition.”
If the transfer pushes through, the vessel will be the Philippines’ second donated ship by South Korea, which two years ago handed over a second-hand Pohang-class corvette ROKS Chungju (PCC-762), now called BRP Conrado Yap (PS-39).
The donation came ahead of an anticipated big-ticket procurement for a pair of brand new corvettes from South Korea’s HHI for P28 billion—a plan that has been announced since 2019 but it faced setbacks due to budgetary constraints and the pandemic.
The Department of National Defense was expected to issue the notice of award to HHI in the coming weeks, once the special allocation release order is approved by the Department of Budget and Management.
A team of Navy personnel conducted a post qualification inspection in South Korea in October, following the conclusion of negotiations with HHI.