French ship arrives in RP today

MANILA, Philippines – A French Navy surveillance ship is set to arrive in the country today for a four-day goodwill visit, an official said yesterday.

French embassy press attaché Carolle Lucas said in a phone interview that surveillance frigate Vendémiaire arrives at the North Harbor in Manila this morning and will be given welcome honors by Filipino military and government officials.

The ship’s skipper, Commander Frederick Benon, is set to pay courtesy calls on Navy chief Vice Adm. Ferdinand Golez and Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim.

Information released by the French embassy in Manila said the ship has just finished its tour of Dili in Timor Leste and would visit the Philippines as part of its North Pacific round.

“This four-day goodwill visit’s objective is to promote friendship and cooperation between the Philippines and France as nations of the Pacific,” the French embassy said.

It added that French warships visit the Philippine archipelago once or twice a year.

As a surveillance frigate, Vendémiaire patrols the high seas and areas under French jurisdiction. The missions of its crew of 92 personnel, including 12 officers, comprise continuous duty at sea with the capacity to patrol, inform and deal with troublemakers, navigation police and fishery protection, projection of deterrent forces and participation in multilateral exercises and many bilateral cooperation projects with the navies of the region.

Vendémiaire is outfitted with a helicopter that is designed for operations at sea.

The ship, whose name refers to the month of grape harvest in the calendar of the 18th century French revolution (from Sept. 22 to Oct. 21), is based in Noumea in New Caledonia, a French territory in the Pacific. – James Mananghaya