"If he fires one, we'll fire one."..."FIRE ONE!"
One of my favorite Cold War movies.
Posted on 11/25/2024 11:47:23 AM PST by Retain Mike
Supported by gunboats and a former U.S. Coast Guard cutter, Philippine Navy SEALs and Marines approached a South China Sea island owned by Manila in a simulated seizure drill as Chinese forces observed from afar on Wednesday.
Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner and other high-ranking officers observed the exercise, among the most intense that Manila has held in the disputed waters, from the bridge of BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS-16). Four rigid-hull inflatable boats transported members of Naval Special Operations Unit 4 and the 61st Force Reconnaissance Company to Loaita Island. Known to the Philippines as Kota, and to China as Nányào Dǎo, the island is one of the Philippines’ few possessions in the South China Sea. The island is home to a small Philippine Navy personnel detachment that monitors the surrounding waters and is administered under the Kalayaan municipality of the province of Palawan.
Two new Israeli-built Acero-class fast patrol gunboats, BRP Domingo Deluana (PG-905) and BRP Lolinato To-Ong (PG-902), and a helicopter supported the landing activity. A Philippine Air Force transport aircraft also air dropped supplies. Chinese warships shadowed the drills, with ABS-CBN News reporting the presence of at least two vessels. Brawner told reporters that this was expected, and noted their presence added “realism” to the drills.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.usni.org ...
China, being a nuclear power and rapidly expanding its arsenal, changes the strategic equation,
“The task force is comprised of U.S. forces providing our Philippines allies with enhanced cooperation and interoperability for their maritime operations.”
Using standards set forth by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act identify the country’s internal waters, archipelagic waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone, continental shelf and sea lanes. China condemned the new laws, claiming that they destabilize the region and reiterated its claims by posting a list of coordinates detailing maritime features, including Sabina and Second Thomas Shoals, and their Chinese names.
On Monday at 11 a.m., the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) confirmed Shandong, together with cruiser CNS Yan’an (106) and destroyer CNS Zhanjiang (165), were sailing in an area 447 miles south of Miyako Island.
Supported by gunboats and a former U.S. Coast Guard cutter, Philippine Navy SEALs and Marines approached a South China Sea island owned by Manila in a simulated seizure drill as Chinese forces observed from afar on Wednesday.
China will have access to Oreshnik technology. U.S. aircraft carriers could not be more obsolete than they are sitting in the South China Sea. The USN is defenseless. The USN runs from the Houthis!
There’ll be no invasions of anything in this region.
Go back to China, communist.
Bkmk
One of my favorite Cold War movies.
Simply put. The Philippines simply cannot prevent China from seizing any island it claims in the South China Sea or fishing in its waters. Nor will the US go to war to protect Philippine claims or to counter China’s actions in the region. There were and are consequences to the Philippine decision to oust the US from Subic Bay naval and Clark Air Force base.
The US-Philippine strategy at the moment, as has been practiced on maneuvers, is to use positions on Philippine territory as “fighting bases” to which offensive and defensive missile units will be rapidly deployed. Besides that a number of airfields are being prepared to serve as front line airfields, sort of the idea behind WW2’s Guadalcanal “Cactus” airstrip, to which Navy and Marine squadrons will fly in to conduct combat sorties. Presumably USN aircraft carriers will serve as sustainment bases, servicing aircraft and also, to some extent, providing aviation based logistics support.
The Philippines will thus serve as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier”, Guadalcanal-style.
Some of these will be Philippine units, which is why the Philippines has received Brahmos antiship missiles, as well as Israeli SAMS this year. Both for the first time ever.
Philippine forces will have their own fighting bases.
Clark and Subic would be utterly useless today. These were rear area bases, shipyards and aviation maintenance, medical, HR, heavy logistics, etc - all just fixed targets now. China is too close given modern weapons systems. South China is an hour away by fighter bomber.
The Philippines is on the frontline. Current basing plans are to fly in fighting units, missile launchers and aircraft, to operate directly. These will be numerous fighting bases, from which US forces will directly shoot at the enemy, or launch aircraft on operational sorties. These are also meant to be temporary and easily shifted or withdrawn. The current bases agreement has opened the whole country as a “base”.
The Philippine military is corrupt, just like the rest of the country. Will they fight?
“The Philippines simply cannot prevent China from seizing any island it claims in the South China Sea”
The Philippines, can, now, make it costly to do so. It now has the capacity to shoot back.
BIDEN runs from the Houthis, in service to Obama and Jarrett;s allies in Iran.
There is corrupt and there is corrupt. But that does not necessarily mean that fighting spirit is low. South Korea in its time was vastly more corrupt, what we know today as the Chaebol are simply institutionalized corruption from long ago.
The Filipinos absolutely will fight. The armed forces are professional and the troops are notably self-sacrificing, as seen in the siege of Marawi - Falluja x 5. The macho is strong there.
Dann-o on the case.
I was admiring the old Hamilton class cutters the other day, and I saw that at least three of them went to the Philippine Navy...just beautiful ships, they are now haze gray, but the gorgeous lines just show their heritage right through.
But in seeing that, I saw they sure do have some nice looking modern frigates built in South Korea.
Very nice looking vessels! Likely capable, too.
Hahahaha...I was looking at that guy, trying to remember where I knew him from!
I was never his biggest fan but he did well on Five-O.
The problem with those cutters is they are barely armed at all. There are measures in the works to remedy that, at least to a degree, but as they are now all they can do in a real war is serve as transports, and inefficient ones at that.
Red China attacked the US with a bio weapon. NO other Country has ever done that.
Armament
The ship was armed with a Mk.75 Oto Melara 76 mm Compact main gun, two Mk.38 M242 Bushmaster 25 mm chain gun at midships, and a Phalanx CIWS system aft. The CIWS and chain guns were removed by the US Coast Guard prior to its turn-over to the Philippine Navy. Only the Mk.75 gun remains.
Plans to install additional weapons were made, which includes one Mk. 38 Mod 1 25 mm chain gun aft, two Mk.16 20 mm autocannons midships, and six 12.7 mm machine guns. These were installed during its scheduled dock works before the commissioning ceremonies. Photos during the commissioning ceremonies confirmed the presence of such weapons.
The Philippines reportedly ordered at least four new Mk.38 Mod 3 25mm naval guns, and are expected to be installed on all Gregorio del Pilar class ships.
It was also reported that the Philippine Navy will be getting sophisticated radar system capable of detecting and tracking surface threats, a Harpoon anti-ship missile system, and torpedo decoy systems. This would be purchased from the United States possibly under a government-to-government deal.
Don't know how all that turned out, but...dang, I sure do like those ships. Very rakish. Probably prime duty for those sailors on it.
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