Will the 10 x 40 meter class patrol boats Japan is building for the Philippines be developments of the Bizan (aka Raizan) class? PS 07 (above) and PS 06 (below). Weighs 200 tons ("PS" = Patrol Vessel Small). 46 m long.
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Japan Coast Guard Bizan (aka Raizan) class patrol boat (Photo courtesy DDmurasame)
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A Japanese Navy Beechcraft TC-90 King Air (Photo courtesy planespotters). Japan is likely to provide the Philippines with three.
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PETE'S COMMENT
Japan is providing the Philippines with 10 small patrol boats and 3 small patrol aircraft. These are at the small, inexpensive coast guard level rather than naval scale. Japan may be cautious:
- not to escalate its paramilitary assistance program too quickly or expensively. This may be partly due to domestic Japanese political sensitivities over military assistance programs.
- not to start at weapons too large, expensive and complex. This may raise the expectations of recipients too high for subsequent vessels and aircraft.
- also Japan may not wish its assistance programs to escalate tensions with China too quickly. China may tend to be hyper-sensitive to the weaponisation of South China Sea tensions. This is even though China's island building program may be the most substantial program of militarisation.
- Japan also may not wish to fully take over the US's role of major weapons provider to the Philippines (that has included large coastguard cutter patrol ships).
Reuters via Japan Today, November 22, 2015 advises http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/abe-considering-request-from-philippines-for-large-ships-to-patrol-south-china-sea “There have been media reports that Tokyo would supply Manila with three used Beechcraft TC-90 King Air aircraft suitable for maritime surveillance in the South China Sea. ... Japan is also building 10 40-meter-long vessels for the Philippine coastguard. Manila [says it] needs 100-meter-long patrol ships.”
DETAILS FROM S
"S" in Comments, at Philippines Naval Challenges – Submarines Less Useful of October 21, 2015 has provided, what appear to be, hitherto unpublished details about Japan's provision of 40 meter patrol boats to the Philippines:
Japan supports the maintenance of the Philippines maritime security by supplying patrol aircraft and patrol boats building through the “Philippine Coast Guard Maritime Security Enhancement Project” agreed December 14, 2013. The Official Development Assistance (ODA) is for patrol boats smaller than [Australia's 57 meter] Armidale-class, but the Japanese boats will show good performances. Target date for the project for 10 multipurpose ships, about 40m long, is around February 2018. Likely specifications include:
- Length: 44.00m
- Beam: 7.50m
- Depth: 4.00m
- Engine: MTU 12V4000M93L x 2 (2580kW x 2)
- Officer and crew: 5 and 20 (total 25)
- Voyage speed: 15 knot/h
- Shipbuilder: Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU). JMU is one of the biggest warship builders in Japan, having built helicopter carrier“Hyuga”. [JMU was established in 2013 within IHI Corporation.]
Pete and S