October 26, 2025: Japan is donating six Abukuma-class destroyer escorts to the Philippines. These six ships entered service between 1989 and 1993. These are 109-meter-long 2,550-ton warships operated by a crew of 120. Top speed is 50 kilometers per hour. Electronics include an air-search radar as well as a sea-search radar. There is also a low-altitude surface-search system for nearby objects, including small boats. Weapons include eight Harpoon anti-ship missiles with a range of 140 kilometers. There is an eight-tube ASROC anti-submarine rocket launcher. Each rocket carries a Mark 46 lightweight anti-submarine torpedo. ASROC can launch torpedoes to a range of nearly 10 kilometers. These torpedoes normally use a targeting sensor that then homes in on the sound the target submarine is making. The ships also carry a 76 mm gun as well as a Phalanx CIWS (Close-In Weapon System) that fires 20 mm shells out to nearly 1,500 meters. When turned on, Phalanx will automatically open fire—at 75 rounds a second—at any incoming missiles.

The Philippine navy may only take three of these warships. The Filipino navy has never operated ships this large, but they would come in handy confronting Chinese warships trying to force Filipino fishing boats out of Philippine territorial waters in the South China Sea.

China continues asserting ownership of vast offshore areas that are legally considered part of the Philippines. Worse, the Philippines gets most of the unwanted Chinese attention in the South China Sea. That’s because the Philippines has the most to lose. In terms of land area, the 7,600 islands that comprise the Philippines amount to only 300,000 square kilometers. Compare this to China, with 9.6 million square kilometers of land. According to international law, the Philippines controls, via its EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone), water areas covering 2.26 million square kilometers. By the same standards, the Chinese EEZ waters comprise 877,000 square kilometers. The Philippines is also the weakest, in military terms, nation China has territorial claims on.

The Philippines has a mutual defense treaty with the United States that does not adequately deal with Chinese tactics of a combination of lawfare and use of unique Chinese military forces. Most Chinese commercial ships, particularly freighters and ocean-going fishing ships, are considered part of a military maritime reserve force and are expected to follow orders from navy or coast guard ships whenever called upon. This arrangement is not unusual, as it is an ancient practice still used in many parts of the world. But the Chinese commercial naval militia ships are expected to collect intelligence and sometimes even risk damage and injuries by having their ships block the movement of foreign ships, including warships. In return, the Chinese navy and coast guard will come to the assistance if Chinese commercial and fishing ships get in trouble with foreign navies or coast guards. But this arrangement does not always work out as it should, particularly against Indonesia, whose navy and air force sometimes destroy

Illegal fishing is a worldwide problem, and Chinese trawlers are the biggest offenders. Most of the 5,500 Chinese-built and -operated commercial ships are much larger and usually operate legally. Some get involved, with government permission or under government orders, in smuggling. This usually involves transporting oil from embargoed nations like Iran. The oil is often transferred to a tanker operating legally. This is done at night, and this has increasingly been spotted and high-resolution video taken by American or allied-nation maritime patrol aircraft. These videos make it possible to identify the ships involved, so the Chinese deny any official involvement and don’t punish the Chinese crews and shipping companies involved.

In the South China Sea, China’s naval militia is the main threat to Filipino efforts to protect islands, reefs, and lucrative fishing grounds that are economically important. Other offshore areas have natural gas and oil that can be economically retrieved with new technology. The Philippines has ownership of these underwater treasures, but China has the means to take and hold them using their larger fleet of commercial and military ships as well as the implied use of force.

The Philippines has played nice with China for over a decade while also upgrading its naval and air forces. The Filipino rearmament program has been aided by American, Japanese, and Australian donations of warships and aircraft as well as offers of low-cost military equipment. Because of that, the Philippines now has enough warships and patrol aircraft to maintain constant patrols of disputed areas. China responds with larger unarmed ships as well as a growing number of armed ships and aircraft. Despite the military buildup, Filipino leaders still have to face the fact that they cannot use force to oppose the Chinese. More active allies are needed for that. That has led to closer military cooperation between the Philippines and the United States.