Philippine Navy commits most of its Manila-based fleet to guard the ASEAN summit

The Philippine Navy will send nearly all of its ships based in the Manila area to secure the 49th ASEAN Summit and related meetings, which run from 16 to 18 November, its spokesperson said on Friday. Captain Marissa Martinez announced the deployment during the navy's change-of-command ceremony at Naval Station Jose Andrada in Manila, the same event at which the service received a new chief.

According to the state-run Philippine News Agency, most of the vessels assigned to the Naval Defense Command will provide maritime security for Manila Bay, its sea approaches and other strategically important waters during the summit. The command, which is based at Sangley Point in Cavite City, was previously known as the Fleet Marine Ready Force.

Among the ships named for the task are the navy's two newest offshore patrol vessels, BRP Rajah Sulayman (PS-20) and BRP Rajah Lakandula (PS-21), each displacing about 2,400 tonnes. Both were moored at navy headquarters in Manila during Friday's ceremony. Martinez described them as recently acquired assets that would be part of the force deployed for the summit.

The operation will not rely on ships alone. Martinez said the navy would also use the Philippine Marine Corps, the Naval Special Operations Group, whose personnel are often called the navy SEALs, and the Naval Air Warfare Force. Their role is to protect President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and visiting foreign delegations and to guard key coastal and maritime areas around the capital.

Patrols will concentrate on the approaches to Manila Bay from the west, north and south, Martinez told reporters, according to the Daily Tribune. The main summit venue is the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

Earlier, the head of the navy's public affairs office, Captain Marie Angelica Sisican, said the service would place key sea assets in Manila Bay as part of the government's wider security preparations, aimed at keeping the maritime environment safe for the leaders' meetings, the news agency reported. The agency said Martinez declined to elaborate on the full list of ships.

Martinez said the summit commitment would not halt the navy's regular missions elsewhere, including patrols in the West Philippine Sea, the government's name for the parts of the South China Sea that Manila claims. She told ABS-CBN that operations would continue across the country from north to south and from west to east. She added that security arrangements would stay in place for up to about a week after the meetings end, as long as foreign delegates remain in the Philippines.

The announcement came at the same ceremony in which the navy changed commanders, with the two new patrol vessels berthed behind the officials. Martinez framed the summit task as part of the navy's core mandate to secure the country's maritime domain and littoral waters, while also ensuring the safety of the president and ASEAN delegates.