A radar for air defence manufactured in Japan was deployed at the San Fernando Air Force Base in Layunlong Province, Philippines, in the direction of the South China Sea. The delivery ceremony took place on the 20th of December. Under Japan’s “three principles of arms transfer,” authorised in 2014, this is the country’s first sale of complete defence equipment. The Japanese National Security Council is known to have approved exporting the air defence radar system to the Philippines as a deterrent against China. Under the new principles, the export of arms is permitted so long as it is determined that the transfer will, among other things, contribute to maintaining international peace and enhancing national security.
Considering the conflict that is taking place between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, the Philippine military is eager to improve its capabilities in terms of surveillance and alerting.
The deployment site is located approximately 300 kilometres away from Scarborough Reef, which is also referred to as Scarborough Shoal in China. Scarborough Reef is the focus of continuing minor conflicts between the two countries.
In his remarks to the media, Philippine Defense Secretary Teodoro emphasised that this site is “strategic” and revealed that the radar can identify airspace targets at 550 miles. As an additional point of interest, it functions with a mechanism that allows sharing this information with sympathetic nations like Japan.
In August 2020, Mitsubishi Electric and the Department of Defence of the Philippines signed a procurement agreement for air defence radars. One mobile radar and three fixed radars were required to be delivered under the terms of the agreement.
Mitsubishi Electric is supplying the improved version of the three J/FPS-3 and one J/TPS-P14 air defence systems, which the Self-Defense Forces use.
The former has been placed in the mountains along coastal areas in Japan to detect incoming fighter jets or missiles. The system has been used as a missile defence system against North Korea and for other purposes.
The latter can be loaded on trucks and other locations to detect incoming aircraft or helicopters.
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force conducted a training session on its use for the Philippine Air Force. The contract price for the four radars is estimated to be about USD 99.55 million. The delivery of the radars is not anticipated to take place until at least 2026. The northern tip of Luzon Island will be the location of one of them, which will be stationed close to Taiwan.
