Philippines taps Korean weapons to bolster deterrence as South China Sea clashes surge

Tensions have escalated in the disputed South China Sea, with law enforcement vessels from the Philippines and China engaging in an average of 12.1 confrontational interactions per month between August 2024 and May 2025, according to data from the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.

To bolster its deterrence against China, the Philippine military is increasingly turning to Korea for arms procurement, drawn by Korea’s reliable delivery timelines, competitive quality and ally status with the United States.

The Philippines has either purchased or is considering the purchase of a wide range of Korean defense assets, from frigates to fighter jets, as it works to modernize its military forces from the ground up, an initiative known as the Horizon Military Modernisation Programme.

The move came as U.S. President Donald Trump underscored the importance of defending the first island chain — a strategic line of archipelagos stretching from Japan through Taiwan down to the edge of the South China Sea — alongside its allies, including the Philippines. As a critical part of the first island chain, Manila has stepped up its defense in response.

Re-Horizon 3, the current phase of the military modernization program with a $35 billion budget, focuses heavily on improving the country’s naval and aerial defense capabilities, with new frigates, patrol vessels and advanced fighter jets.

Frigate-powered naval buildup 

The Philippine Naval Force has been a frequent customer of Korean vessels since it purchased two Jose Rizal-class Frigates worth 15.7 billion Philippine pesos ($286 million) in 2016, but the ongoing threat in the South China Sea is pushing the Navy to acquire a larger number of ships from Korean shipbuilders.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), as a longtime partner of the Philippine Navy, has already been tasked with building multiple frigate ships. The Korean shipbuilding firm has delivered 10 naval vessels to the Philippine Navy, including another two Jose Rizal-class Frigates in 2020 and 2021 and two Miguel Malvar-class Frigates — BRP Miguel Malvar and BRP Diego Silang — in May and December 2025.

In late December last year, the shipbuilder was once again awarded an 844 billion won ($571 million) contract to supply two additional next-generation frigates to the Philippine Navy, a deal that mirrors a $573 million contract from 2022.

“HD HHI’s vessels were in operation by the Philippine Navy, and they were very satisfied with the result. The technological trust the Navy has in the company is extremely high,” an HD HHI spokesperson said.

The maintenance, repair and operations efforts done by the company also act as a driving factor in the continued purchase of HD HHI-built ships, as the ability to maintain ships within the country helps reduce operational costs for the Navy.

“We are not just selling ships by ships as individual products, but more as a cohesive system, where the frigates and corvettes that we built can operate smoothly,” the company said.

The next step for the company is to win a bid to supply submarines for the Navy.

Currently, the Philippines has zero submarines in its arsenal and is actively pursuing the acquisition of at least two diesel-electric submarines with a budget of up to 110 billion Philippine pesos. While France’s Naval Group is offering Scorpene-class submarines and Hanwha Ocean is offering KSS-III, HD HHI, with its past positive experiences with the Navy, may also come into play.

While no official requests were given to the companies, HD HHI explained that the Philippine Navy will benefit from system integration and maintenance if the Navy chooses its submarines.

Light fighter jets now, stealth fighter jets in the future 

Another crucial part of the Philippines’ modernization program comes with acquiring multipurpose fighter jets, as the country currently only has the FA-50PH light fighter and trainer jet from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and EMB 314 light attack aircraft from Brazil, making Korea’s first fighter jet built with domestic technology a more appealing offer.

KAI’s FA-50PH, the Philippine variant of the FA-50 light fighter jet, has been at the core of the country’s airpower for years, as it has effectively been used in attacking terrorist groups in the country many times. The $64 million deal signed in December between KAI and the Philippine Air Force, which aims to upgrade the existing FA-50PH, proves this sentiment.

The upgrade is poised to increase the range and operation time of the aircraft, as well as install active electronically scanned array radar, effectively making it “better than the ones operated by the Korean Air Force,” according to KAI.

This will put the KF-21— also developed by KAI — in an advantageous spot during the competition for the Philippines’ bid for the next multirole fighter jet.

“The Philippines is currently evaluating the Gripen E/F and the KF-21 as its final candidates, and the KF-21 is expected to have a competitive edge on price and performance, as it can be later upgraded to be stealth-compatible,” NH Investment & Securities analyst Rhee Jae-kwang said.

The KF-21, while developed by the same manufacturer, is a completely different aircraft altogether. At 12,000 kilograms (26,000 pounds), it is almost twice the weight of the FA-50 and is designed with the option to upgrade to stealth capabilities in the future.

While it was reported by Reportera that the Philippines has requested that KAI deliver KF-21 fighter jets by 2029, a KAI spokesperson told the Korea JoongAng Daily that no official proposal requests were given to the company at the moment.

The hurdle is now in the government’s hands — especially in the form of financial arrangements. The 2026 General Appropriation Act signed by President Ferdinant Macros Jr. opens the opportunity of “foreign and domestic financial arrangements,” which can aid the country in acquiring more advanced Korean systems.

“The Korean government should be considering different ways where emerging nations can acquire Korean-made defense products with reduced financial burdens,” Jang Won-joon of Jeonbuk National University’s defense industry convergence program said. “Maybe a subscription-like program that divides the total cost into yearly payments may be worth consideration.”

Seoul’s possible answer is a strategic export finance fund. The proposed fund will support defense and nuclear energy export bids in the form of financing. Currently, the financial support given by the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea is limited to 40 percent of the borrower’s equity capital, making it a financial barrier for large-scale defense deals.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]