PH to build new navy shipyards – Defense chief

MANILA – The Philippines is building new dockyards and shipyards to service its newly-acquired naval vessels to be delivered within the next three years, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on Tuesday.

"We are investing in creating new dockyards and shipyards that are operationally secure, particularly in the West Philippine Sea," Teodoro said in his talks at the Philippine Strategic Outlook 2024 Onwards: National Security and Economic Resilience forum at the Ateneo de Manila University.

"We have ten naval vessels arriving without any dockyard to put them in, so I'm catching up to create new facilities for the capabilities that were ordered before, and for the capabilities that we will need," he added.

Teodoro was referring to the two missile corvettes and six offshore patrol vessels being built by defense contractor HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea and two landing docks by shipbuilder PT PAL in Indonesia.

The building of dockyards and shipyards is necessary for secure and dedicated defense infrastructures and capabilities, he said.

"We will also need to re-engineer the design of our structures," he added.

The move comes under the Self-Reliant Defense Posture Revitalization Act, to develop the country's defense industry by creating ways to boost the local production of defense equipment.

Teodoro said it is essential to the modernization efforts, which focus on command and control, deterrence capabilities, and interoperability.

The law is seen to complement the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept, an initiative to enhance maritime security and the defensive posture of the country amid Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea. (PNA)