Welcome aboard: Kishida (centre) visiting the ‘BRP Teresa Magbanua’ vessel at the Philippine Coast Guard headquarters in Manila. — AP
A SENIOR official said the country will buy five coast guard vessels worth half a billion dollars through a Japanese government loan to improve its patrol capability in disputed waters of the South China Sea.
The project was announced after a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who pledged in a speech that Japan would “continue to contribute to the enhancement of the Philippines’ security capabilities”.
