Tag: military modernization

Navy to sideline 17 vessels due to manpower shortage

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
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The Navy will reportedly sideline 17 vessels due to a manpower shortage that makes it difficult to properly crew and operate ships across the fleet. 

Navy to sideline 17 vessels due to manpower shortage, operating crews will be redistributed: report

Related:

Navy Could Sideline 17 Support Ships Due to Manpower Issues

“This is basically the result of many years of neglect and mismanagement of their force,” Sal Mercogliano, former MSC mariner and associate professor of history at Campbell University told USNI News on Thursday.
“They are just burning through people.”

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While the order has yet to be signed, Mercogliano has tracked EPFs beginning to return to the U.S. from aboard far from the end of their expected service lives.

“These ships have a lot of life in them,” he said.

NO to US-BBM War, NO to EDCA Bases! Blinken-Austin Get Out, Stay Out!

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The Philippines and China have just restored peace and stability in the areas of the South China Sea contested by the two countries in a July 21, 2024 “de-escalation” deal that aimed at “easing tensions.”

NO to US-BBM War, NO to EDCA Bases!
Blinken-Austin Get Out, Stay Out!

Related:

NO to US-BBM War, NO to EDCA Bases! – Cebu

NO to US-BBM War, NO to EDCA Bases! Blinken-Austin Get Out, Stay Out! Forum Statement

Washington’s Use and Abuse of the Philippines Takes Next Step

Philippines’ Congress to prioritize EPIRA changes as Senate junks ‘Cha-cha’

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Congress to prioritize EPIRA changes as Senate junks ‘Cha-cha’

THE PHILIPPINE Senate would put proposals to change the 1987 Constitution on the back burner and would instead focus on measures to boost the military amid growing tensions with China, according to the Senate president.

The chamber would also pass bills that seek to boost healthcare and jobs while easing hunger, Senate President Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero said in a speech as Congress resumed sessions on Monday.

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At the weekend, he said they would tackle a proposal to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) amid blackouts.

The Senate will also push changes to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE), particularly lower taxes on domestic and foreign companies.

Mr. Escudero said Congress should go beyond laws that only benefit big business, and find solutions to problems with healthcare, joblessness and poverty.

“We will take peaceful measures to defend our people’s right to sail in our seas and fish in our waters, as what our ancestors had done, and what our children and grandchildren shall do,” he added.

The Senate in December passed a bill that seeks to boost the country’s defense program through investments in local defense equipment manufacturing. The measure will give the Department of National Defense P1 billion in seed funding.

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Also on Monday, Speaker and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said the House of Representatives would also seek changes to EPIRA.

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He said changes to EPIRA, which liberalized the power industry, would bring down electricity prices and ease inflation.

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It would now fast-track changes to EPIRA and a bill that seeks to extend the lease period for foreign investors. Other pending measures include amendments to the Agrarian Reform law and another that will modernize national defense.

“We have to continue building roads, highways, ports, school buildings and climate change-proof structures to maintain and expand economic growth,” Mr. Romualdez said. “I emphasize our commitment to pass the remaining priority bills before the end of the third regular session.”

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Jose Enrique “Sonny” A. Africa, executive director of think tank IBON Foundation, said it is wrong to equate economic progress with growth given the increasing number of poor Filipino families.

“Most Filipinos haven’t become better off because of this growth,” he told BusinessWorld. “The number of self-rated poor families has soared by 3.4 million since the start of the Marcos administration from 12.6 million in June 2022 to 16 million in June 2024.”

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South China Sea: Philippines’ anti-ship missile base puts Scarborough Shoal in cross hairs (more information)

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

What the article left out is; to shoot far, the Philippine military needs to see far. However, the Philippines don’t have any over-the-horizon (OTH) radar, military satellites, AWACS planes or other long-range ISR capabilities, to make use of the full range of the BrahMos missile. Without it the missile is limited to the range of its available ISR assets, which are measured in just dozens of kilometers.

However, if a BrahMos missile is ever launched against a long-range Chinese target, it will be easy to guess who would have supplied the essential Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) information and target identification to the Philippine military.

StarBoySAR

South China Sea: Philippines’ anti-ship missile base puts Scarborough Shoal in cross hairs

Even if the Philippines lacks the advanced communications, intelligence, and targeting systems needed to maximise the BrahMos’ capabilities, it could still leverage US support in these areas, Koh said, citing the sinking of Russia’s Moskva warship by Ukraine in 2022, which he said was achieved thanks to “targeting support provided by Kyiv’s allies, chiefly the Americans”.

The flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva became the largest warship lost in combat since the second world war when it was hit by two Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles in April 2022. US officials later told the media that the Pentagon had provided intelligence that led to the ship’s sinking.

For the Philippines, the BrahMos missiles are “significant game changers” [🙄], according to security strategist Chester Cabalza, president of the International Development and Security Cooperation think tank in Manila.

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However, Don McLain Gill, an international-studies lecturer at De La Salle University in the Philippines, questioned whether the BrahMos purchase alone would deliver robust deterrence against China.

“It will be crucial for the BrahMos to be supplemented by efficient intelligence, surveillance, target-acquisition and reconnaissance, which is critical to track targets and ensure they can be used by command,” he said, warning Manila must invest further to maximise the missiles’ deterrent value.

Previously:

Philippines Builds First BrahMos Anti-Ship Missile Base Facing South China Sea

US to change Japan command posture to boost deterrence in face China -US envoy

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

US to change Japan command posture to boost deterrence in face China -US envoy

Sources with knowledge of the planning have told Reuters Washington will consider appointing a four-star commander for Japan to match the rank of the head of Japan’s new military headquarters. Experts say a U.S. officer of that rank could lay the groundwork for a future unified Japanese-U.S. command.

Related:

A Vital Next Step for the U.S.-Japan Alliance: Command and Control Modernization

Reimagining U.S. Forces Japan

The current structure of alliance command and control is not sufficient for the task. U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) has changed little since the 1960s, when Japan was viewed as little more than a platform for U.S. military operations across the region. USFJ’s authorities and staffing are limited primarily to administering alliance agreements related to the 50,000-plus U.S. personnel stationed in Japan with the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Army. U.S. forces in Japan represent some of the most important U.S. military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific, but the three-star USFJ commander has limited joint operational authorities, and the separate U.S. service elements in Japan report back to their component headquarters in Hawaii.

South China Sea: Philippines debates boosting war readiness through mandatory military training for students

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Renewed talks on a bill that would reinstate a mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) programme in colleges and universities in the Philippines has sparked debate on whether it would be effective in strengthening the country’s military amid growing tensions in the South China Sea.

South China Sea: Philippines debates boosting war readiness through mandatory military training for students

PH: Compared To China, US Trade, Investment Offers Laughable + More

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)1 Comment

Compared To China, US Trade, Investment Offers Laughable

On the other hand, the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) donations of China alone that are reality– Chico River Irrigation Pump, Davao Bucana Bridge, Estrella-Pantaleon and Binondo-Intramuros Bridge, the ongoing Kaliwa Dam Project that would provide 600/mld (million liters per day) to drying Metro-Manila and hundreds other projects– already count billions of dollars, not to mention private investments like DITO Telecoms’ $ 3.9 billion investment in our telecom sector.

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