The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
The Philippines signed a deal to purchase two corvettes from Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd, beefing up its defense capabilities in a region that has become more militarised due competing claims in the South China Sea.
The warships, part of a 28 billion-peso ($556 million) project for the Philippine Navy, are capable of anti-ship, anti-submarine and anti-air warfare missions, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in speech during the signing of the deal.
The country earlier bought two frigates also from Hyundai Heavy, and expects “ease of maintenance and repairs†with a common shipbuilder for all its naval platforms, Lorenzana said. It also plans to sign a deal with PZL Mielec of Poland for 32 Black Hawk helicopters.
The Philippines has been boosting its military strength and is planning a return to full drills with the US amid tensions with Beijing over its expansive
territorial claims in the resource-rich South China Sea. In November, the country accused China of firing water cannons to prevent its boats from resupplying a South China Sea outpost.