MANILA, Philippines — French defense company Naval Group is eyeing to build a naval base handling submarine operations in the Philippines to safeguard its maritime territory, particularly in the West Philippine Sea.
Naval Group corporate sales director for the Philippines Loïc Beaurepaire stated in a press briefing on Thursday that they are partnering with the Philippine Navy (PN) with the goal of improving the country's naval assets and capability to respond to multiple threats.
The company offers no less than two units of its main product Scorpene model, a 1,800-ton diesel-electric attack submarine, in addition to the 14 units operating in Chile, Malaysia, India and Brazil.
The PN'S budget for the submarine acquisition program is estimated at around P70 billion. The Agila Subic in Zambales was chosen as the base's location for its deep waters, localization and access to a civilian shipyard.
"We (Naval Group) always propose tailor-made solutions depending [on] the needs of the client… usually we do a lot of transfer of technology to local shipyards for them to be able to do the maintenance on the spot of the different asset there," Beaurepaire said.
Negotiations with the Philippine government regarding the French defense company's submarine creation project are ongoing and yet to be finalized.
Last May 26, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed his plans to acquire the Philippines' first-ever submarine to keep up with Southeast Asian neighbors.
Aside from developing a submarine force to acquire technical superiority in its maritime zones, the Naval Group has also committed to protecting the Philippine submarine force's autonomy.
Training a squadron for the know-how to plan via "French standards," both ashore, on simulators and onboard submarines, will be among the French shipbuilder's assistance, as well as qualification of a local supplier chain.
The Naval Group opened its Manila office on Wednesday since its inception in 2020, as a first step in its long-term commitment to cooperation and partnership in strengthening Philippine naval capabilities. — Intern, Bless Aubrey Ogerio