South East Asia Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

The Philippines is expected to receive two military aircraft from the United States later this year, the spokesman for the Southeast Asian state’s coast guard said this week.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) had confirmed last year that it was in conversation with its U.S. counterparts for the transfer of two U.S. Army C-23 Sherpa planes, with additional aircraft also being considered. The planes were set to be transferred under the U.S. Excess Defense Articles program as of late 2014, indicating used U.S. military items provided to allied and partner countries at reduced or no cost.

On Wednesday, local media outlets reported that PCG spokesman Commander Armand Balilo had said in an interview at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) general headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo that the two of the aircraft would be delivered in December. The aircraft, Balilo said, would help boost the coast guard’s air patrol capability, which is now quite limited with just the Britten-Norman Islanders, a British light utility aircraft designed in the 1960s.

As I have noted before, the Philippines has one of the weakest militaries in the Asia-Pacific and has been relying on allies and partners like the United States, Japan and Australia for capacity-building as it confronts a range of internal and external threats.

The C-23 Sherpa was designed by The Shorts Aviation Company located in Belfast, Northern Island, one of the world’s oldest aircraft builders. Classified as a light military transport aircraft, it can provide seating for 30 passengers, has a range of a thousand miles and can cruise up to two hundred knots. The aircraft is designed for a wide variety of missions, from troop and vehicle transport and airborne/airdrop missions to maritime surveillance.

In the U.S. military, the C-23 Sherpa entered service with the United States Air Force back in 1985, and was featured in various roles in more recent U.S. missions including in Iraq. The C-23 Sherpa has been retired from the Army National Guard in January 2014, and it was subsequently announced that the United States would supply eight of the aircraft to the Philippines, Estonia and Djibouti.

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China and Singapore are set to hold their second-ever bilateral military exercise this weekend, the Southeast Asian state’s defense ministry confirmed on September 9.

The Republic of Singapore Navy’s (RSN) Formidable-class frigate RSS Steadfast will conduct a bilateral exercise with the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLA-N) Jiangkai II-class frigate Jingzhou, Singapore’s defense ministry (MINDEF) said. The exercise is the second conducted between the RSN and PLAN since the first, Exercise Maritime Cooperation, was held in May 2015.

According to The Straits Times, the drill will last half a day and involve communication drills and maneuvering exercises, with more than 200 personnel from both sides taking part. MINDEF said that the exercise “advances the progress in practical cooperation” between the two navies.

The two navies will also practice using the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) – a series of protocols for the safety of naval vessels reached in 2014 at the Western Pacific Naval Symposium. As I have indicated previously, the expansion of CUES has been touted by Singapore, the United States, and others as one of a series of interim steps to defuse tensions in the South China Sea. Singapore is also currently the country coordinator for the ASEAN-China dialogue partnership, which marks its 25th year.

Ahead of the exercise, the RSS Steadfast had arrived at the Yangzijiang Naval Jetty in Shanghai on Thursday from the multinational Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise off Hawaii for a range of activities. These included an exchange of ship visits by naval personnel, a reception for PLA(N) personnel on board the ship, and meetings between RSN Fleet Commander Colonel Cheong Kwok Chien with a number of Chinese naval officials.

“The RSN cherishes the continued opportunities to call on the PLA(N) and exercise together,” Cheong said of the interactions. On a professional and personal level, we hope to continue our friendship and trust, to build a strong foundation for greater interoperability. I look forward to more meaningful collaboration between our navies,” he added.

Following the exercise, the RSS Steadfast will return back to Singapore later this month, ending its three-month deployment.

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Jura said:

also mentions the Thai frigate to be obtained from S. Korea:

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Thailand's National Assembly has approved a 2017 defence budget of THB210.7 billion (USD6 billion), the country's military government said on 8 September.
The 2017 defence budget amounts to 7% of total government expenditure during the year and comes into effect from October. The government said the 2017 defence allocation represents a slight increase, or THB220 million, over actual military spending in 2016.
Documents published by the government's Bureau of the Budget show that the new defence allocation is a 2% increase over the original 2016 expenditure of THB206.4 billion. It is also notable that the approved budget for 2017 is a decrease on the THB214 billion requested by the Ministry of Defence earlier this year.

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FORBIN said:

New Indonesian Tanker Tarakan, do 122 m, about 10000 t full

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SouthernSky said:

More donations to the Philippines.



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FORBIN said:

Thai Navy, CV Naruebet have for CAW since AV-8 retired 6 S-70B and 2 MH-60S after 4 new in order.
With a FFG Naresuan, Repl Ship Similan and a Corvette seems.
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