Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Bianca Dava

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1771922425269HB44SqLaEAAGyOo_cropped_processed_by_imagy.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">AFP chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. leads the christening and commissioning of the offshore patrol vessel BRP Rajah Sulayman (PS-20) and the fast attack interdiction craft BRP Audrey Bañares (PG-910) at the Naval Operating Base in Subic, Zambales on Tuesday. Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Modernization is not a signal of aggression but a statement of responsibility, according to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff General Romeo Brawner Jr.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/28/afp-welcomes-dnd-push-to-fast-track-modernization-program-2248">AFP welcomes DND push to fast-track modernization program</a></div><p>Brawner led the christening and commissioning of two brand-new warships of the Philippine Navy in Subic, Zambales on Tuesday—the offshore patrol vessel (OPV) BRP Rajah Sulayman (PS-20) and the fast attack interdiction craft (FAIC) BRP Audrey Bañares (PG-910).</p><p>“The christening and commissioning of BRP Rajah Sulayman and BRP Audrey Bañares represent more than the addition of two ships to the fleet. They signal the continuing maturation of our defense posture and the deepening of our national resolve to safeguard what is ours—peacefully, lawfully, and with dignity,” Brawner said in his speech during the ceremony.</p><p>He stressed that in today’s strategic environment, “clarity matters,” noting that the Philippines’ surrounding waters are not “abstract spaces” but corridors of commerce, sources of livelihood, and lifelines of energy and food security.</p><p>“As an archipelagic nation, maritime security is central to who we are,” he said.</p><p>“Let me be clear: modernization is not a signal of aggression. It is a statement of responsibility. A credible defense posture deters conflict. Preparedness prevents miscalculation. Capability preserves peace,” he added.</p><p>Brawner said that while the Philippines remains committed to diplomacy and the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, “peace is best secured when it is protected by readiness.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>FIRST OF SIX OFFSHORE PATROL VESSELS</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The BRP Rajah Sulayman is the first of six OPVs contracted from South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries under a P30-billion deal.</p><p>The vessel was launched in Ulsan, South Korea on June 11, 2025, and arrived in the Philippines on January 17 this year.</p><p>The remaining five ships are scheduled for delivery at a rate of two per year from 2026 to 2028.</p><p>Rear Admiral Joe Anthony Orbe, commander of the Philippine Fleet, said the new OPV is designed primarily for sustained maritime presence missions.</p><p>“Our frigates are bigger and armed with missiles. The OPV’s main mission is to provide presence in our maritime space,” Orbe explained.</p><p>He went on, “Using a frigate for routine patrol is like using a sports car in heavy traffic. It’s not the most efficient use of resources.”</p><p>Unlike missile-armed frigates, the OPV is not equipped with missiles but is built for longer endurance—up to 25 days at sea—allowing it to maintain persistent presence in the country’s vast maritime domain, estimated at 2.2 million square kilometers.</p><p>“We need persistent presence in our waters,” Orbe said. “Regardless of whether there is a problem or not, we are duty-bound to protect our sovereignty and conserve our sovereign rights.”</p><p>Equipped with remotely operated and stabilized weapons systems, including 30-millimeter guns sourced from Turkey, the OPV can engage surface and aerial targets even while underway, according to Orbe.</p><p>The remote capability allows operators to control weapons from the ship’s Combat Information Center (CIC), improving operational efficiency, he added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>COMPLETING THE ACERO-CLASS GUNBOATS</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The BRP Audrey Bañares is the ninth and final FAIC acquired from Israel Shipyards Limited under a P10-billion contract signed in February 2021.</p><p>The FAICs, also known as the Acero-class gunboats, are expected to replace the Navy’s medium-sized patrol craft and enhance the protection of Philippine littoral waters.</p><p>The two new warships will participate in joint exercises, humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) operations, maritime patrols, and regional engagements.</p><p>“They are instruments of deterrence but also instruments of cooperation,” Brawner said. “When they sail, they carry the aspirations of millions of Filipinos who rely on safe seas.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>‘WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO MODERNIZE’</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>In an ambush interview after the ceremony, Brawner addressed questions on why the military continues to acquire more ships amid doubts from some lawmakers over maritime boundaries.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/24/marcoleta-spratlys-not-discovered-by-tomas-cloma-1508">Marcoleta: Spratlys not discovered by Tomas Cloma</a></div><p>“The additional vessels of our Philippine Navy will add to our capability to defend our sovereignty,” he said, citing the country’s Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC).</p><p>Brawner explained that the Philippines’ maritime entitlements are based on established baselines, from which the country measures its 12-nautical-mile territorial sea and 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).</p><p>“No country defines their territory in the ocean by putting coordinates everywhere,” he said, noting the difficulty of doing so for an archipelagic nation.</p><p>He rejected suggestions that acquisitions should be curtailed because of questions about “undefined areas.”</p><p>“That’s not the view of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The more ships that we have, the better protection we have. The better credibility that we are developing for our nation,” the military chief stressed.</p><p>He emphasized that the Philippine Navy is not confined to operating within the country’s EEZ, but also in the features beyond that.</p><p>“Even if we are saying that we will defend our EEZ, we can go beyond that because of the principle of freedom of navigation,” the official noted.</p><p>“We have the right to modernize our Armed Forces. We will not be dictated by any country in our modernization,” he continued. “We are defending our sovereignty, and we are defending our future.”</p><p>Brawner also underscored that militaries worldwide are adapting to what he described as the “new character of war,” including information and cognitive warfare, cyber warfare, space warfare, the use of drones, electronic warfare, and artificial intelligence.</p><p>“It’s not just us experiencing the need to modernize. Almost all nations are facing the same thing,” he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><strong><br/><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6Gtq-l_3c7Y?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E2c0zWfIV9s?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Modernization is not a signal of aggression but a statement of responsibility, according to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff General Romeo Brawner Jr.</p>

Modernization is not a signal of aggression but a statement of responsibility, according to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff General Romeo Brawner Jr.

Brawner: AFP modernization ‘not aggression’ as Navy commissions 2 new warships

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Brawner: AFP modernization ‘not aggression’ as Navy commissions 2 new warships

Bianca Dava,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 24, 2026 04:41 PM PHT

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commissioning

BRP Rajah Sulayman

BRP Audrey Bañares

Philippine Navy

Navy officials

Gen. Brawner

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