US gives old, used Boats in exchange for many Military Bases in Philippines

The BRP Diwa and BRP Diaz, Photo by the Philippine Navy

The Philippine Navy (PN) recently commissioned into Service two secondhand, decades-old Gunboats that the United States (US) gave in exchange for them getting nine Military Bases in the Philippines. The Boats will now be part of the Alvarez-class Patrol Vessels. 

The first of these is the BRP Valentin Diaz (PS-177) which was formerly the USS Monsoon (PC-4) of the United States Navy (USN) and which was first commissioned in 1994, 29 Years or almost three Decades ago. 

The second one is the BRP Ladislao Diwa (PS-178) which was formerly the USS Chinook (PC-9) and which was first commissioned by the USN in 1995, 28 Years or also almost three Decades ago. 

The Boats are only 53 m long and weighs 330 tons, and are armed with Cannons and Machine Guns. They were reportedly worth around Usd 13.8 million at the time of the transfer, which shows how cheap the Government is in accepting these in exchange for nine Military Bases in the Philippines. 

SOURCES: 

* Department of National Defense (DND) Facebook Page Post, 09/11/23 – 1549H {Archived Link}

* Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Facebook Page Post, 09/11/23 – 1636H {Archived Link}

* Philippine Navy (PN) Facebook Page Post, 09/12/23 – 0930H {Archived Link}

* Defense Chief welcomes addition of 2 ex-Cyclone Patrol Vessels to Navy Fleet {Archived Link}

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