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Japan plans to export six warships to the Philippines under the pretext of "responding to China's maritime expansion." This is the first time since World War II that Japan has exported warships abroad. Their purpose is obviously not only to strengthen the Philippines' maritime power and stir up trouble in the South China Sea, but also to make the Philippines dependent on Japan.

At 14:00 Beijing Time on July 14, during a press conference at the Chinese Ministry of Defense, a journalist asked the Ministry how it would comment on Japan's decision to export six warships to the Philippines under the pretext of "responding to China's maritime expansion."

[Asakura-class frigate]

The response from the Chinese Ministry of Defense directly gave Japan three warnings: urging Japan to deeply reflect, learn from historical lessons, be cautious in military and security matters, and do more to maintain regional peace and stability.

The Ministry's response highlighted a fact: Japan's plan will disrupt the peace and stability of the South China Sea, and this action is clearly overstepping its bounds.

According to Japanese media, the "Asakura" class warships Japan is planning to export are those designed and built in the 1980s.

Although some media refer to the "Asakura" class as frigates, according to both the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force's own definition and Western naval classifications, this class of ships is categorized as "convoy destroyers," a medium-sized combat vessel specialized for anti-submarine escort missions.

[Report by Yomiuri Shimbun on Japan's plan to export six Asakura-class warships to the Philippines]

According to the 2014 "Three Principles of Transfer of Defense Equipment" law passed by Japan, although Japan is allowed to export weapons to foreign countries, the types of equipment are heavily restricted.

Specifically, in the field of ships, Japan can only export auxiliary vessels used for rescue, transportation, surveillance, monitoring, and mine clearance. Ships equipped with offensive weapons or possessing offensive capabilities are strictly prohibited from being exported.

Therefore, although Japan has previously exported ships to the Philippines under the names of "fishery protection" and "humanitarian aid," after these news stories were exposed, not only did the Chinese internet express strong opinions, but even Japan itself was divided.

[Patrol ship "Teresa Magbanua"]

Previously, the patrol ships provided by Japan to the Philippine Coast Guard, including the largest one, "Teresa Magbanua," were unarmed law enforcement vessels, strictly speaking, not warships, and had no offensive capability.

This time, the "Asakura" class that Japan plans to export is clearly a warship. It is obvious that Japan wants to strengthen the Philippines' maritime power so that it can create more troubles for China in the South China Sea.

The Philippines' maritime power is very weak, and the only ships suitable for long-range operations are two Jose Rizal-class and one Marawaya-class frigates built by South Korea, plus two 3,000-ton second-hand Hamilton-class patrol ships.

With such few combat ships, the Philippine Navy is far from being able to withstand the pressure from the Chinese Navy and Coast Guard.

[South Korean-built Jose Rizal-class frigate]

Faced with this situation, although the "Asakura" class frigate is almost 40 years old, its 3,000-ton displacement and ability to perform surface warfare mean that once Manila gets the ships, it can significantly enhance the Philippine Navy and Coast Guard's long-range operational capabilities.

The question now is how Japan will export these six "Asakura" class ships, and how the Philippines will arrange them.

If Japan exports the "Asakura" class without any modifications, simply handing over the original self-defense force version, the Philippine Navy can quickly improve its combat capabilities.

On the other hand, if Japan's export plan needs to comply with the "Three Principles of Transfer of Defense Equipment" law, Japan may remove the main weapons on the ships before transferring them, delivering only unarmored hulls.

Then, Japan could exploit loopholes by offering technical cooperation, allowing the Philippines to choose third-party weapons and have Japan install them, thus successfully exporting modified "Asakura" class frigates to the Philippines.

[The weapon configuration of the Asakura-class frigate is rich]

However, it should be noted that the six frigates also bring more problems to the Philippines. The maintenance issue alone could greatly increase Manila's dependence on Tokyo.

The "Asakura" class uses a combined diesel and gas turbine propulsion system, and the Kawasaki SM1A gas turbine engines used are only available from Japan. With the Philippines' defense budget and industrial capacity, it is impossible to establish maintenance facilities domestically.

As for other equipment on the ships, many are beyond the Philippines' capabilities. If Manila does not buy配套 services from Tokyo, the ships can only be left in the port as decorations.

This is likely the result Japan hopes for, aiming to make the Philippines increasingly dependent on Japan.

The United States is also happy to see this, because America's core goal is to cause trouble for China in the South China Sea. Now that Japan is willing to spend money to provide the Philippines with six new frigates, the U.S. saves money, Japan deepens its control over the Philippines' maritime forces, and the Philippines gains six ships for free. All three sides seem to benefit.

[Kawasaki SM1A gas turbine engine]

Of course, no matter how they "profit," the situation in the South China Sea will not change due to the addition of six Japanese frigates.

After all, the dominant power in the South China Sea is already firmly in the hands of the Chinese Navy. Even when the U.S. aircraft carrier group enters, it has to avoid the People's Liberation Army. This transaction between Japan and the Philippines will only accelerate the Chinese Navy and Coast Guard to increase their maritime law enforcement efforts, invest more, larger, and more advanced ships to block the Philippines' maritime forces.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7526910262457156131/

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