“China has strongly protested against the [South Korean] government’s decision to donate a 1,200-ton patrol boat and a landing vessel to the Philippines, it emerged Monday,” reported August 5 by The Chosun Ilbo, one of major news providers in South Korea.
On Philippine side, there is no report of cancellation.
South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwang-jin told Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin at a meeting in Seoul last May 30 that Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) will decommission a Pohang-class corvette (PCC) by year-end and will be donated to the Philippine Navy.
Minister Kim said South Korea’s gesture is a small token compared with the great contribution of Filipino troops during the Korean War.
Pohang-class corvettes, a class of general purpose vessels operated by the Republic of Korea Navy, are equipped with 4 Harpoon missiles, 2 OTO Melara(76mm)/62 compact cannon, 2 Breda 40mm/70 cannon, 6 Mark 46 torpedoes, 12 Mark 9 depth charges. Sensors and processing systems depend on whether it is an ASW or ASUW version.
The said ship is expected to be donated with intact armament and sensors. (Angmalaya)