Ship plus land missiles
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Thu, 30 May 2019 09:35:28 +0000
IN 1969, my father (former Senator Rene Espina) advocated purchasing missile warships – surface-to-surface & surface-to-air delivery systems – and allocating funds for the naval procurement. Conventional wisdom, given technological advancements in the world, with neighboring-countries yearly increasing armed forces spending, was red-flag for us to keep in stride, building our defense capabilities. I managed to view Israeli blue-prints on the desk of my father for multi-purpose war ships e.g. amphibious, helicopter loading, missile capable, etc. Serious weaponry the Philippine Navy (PN) were deprived with, given US hand-me-downs, vintage World War II.
Political and social climate in that era, was unfortunately incendiary with violent street marches from student, farmer and labor fronts. Demonstrators assaulting police and vice-versa. Propellants for a Congress thumbing down what they viewed as luxury items, the appropriations better applied to social projects, classrooms, housing, roads, etc.
My father travelled to Japan to visit fishing ports in Honshu, Sendai, etc. At the time, second-hand fishing trawlers were vended at lower costs. Some with reinforced bows, to break icy Northern Seas. The idea was to make large trawlers platform for state-of-the-art missile systems for our navy. Recall during the Marcos years, attempts at launching the first domestic made rockets? Said project, sidelined by unfolding political events. A pipe-dream of sorts for the AFP, despite a declining defense posture, and heightened national security concerns. Naval intelligence, in year 1999, estimated yearly cost of foreign marine pilferage in territorial seas at P60 billion. Of recent, the continuing build-up and dominion of Beijing over West Philippine Sea. Kudos to President Rodrigo Duterte on his determination to finally purchase 3 Multi-Purpose Attack Craft with missile capability. Such weaponry must also be applied on land, in defense of our Western shores. They are unsinkable “ships”, like Palawan etc.