Philippines confirms deal to acquire five Japanese Abukuma-class escorts

The Philippines has reached a broad agreement with Japan to acquire five soon-to-be-retired Abukuma-class destroyer escorts, in what would be one of Japan's largest planned transfers of retired naval combatants to a foreign navy. Manila's defence secretary said the two governments had essentially finalised the agreement, with only administrative details remaining, and described the transfer as a sign of goodwill from Tokyo. Deliveries of all five vessels are expected within two to three years, up from an earlier objective of acquiring at least three.

The Abukuma class comprises six destroyer escorts commissioned between 1989 and 1993. Designed mainly for coastal defence and anti-submarine warfare, the ships have a standard displacement of around 2,000 tonnes, a length of 109 metres and a top speed of about 27 knots. They lack area air-defence missiles and helicopter hangars but remain well suited to littoral operations, with a 76mm main gun, a close-in weapon system, anti-ship missiles, an anti-submarine rocket launcher and lightweight torpedoes. For the Philippine Navy, the ships would deliver an immediate increase in fleet size alongside newer South Korean-built frigates.

The deal builds on a bilateral working group set up earlier in the year, when the two defence ministers agreed to accelerate consultations on transferring retired platforms, with the escorts to move soon after they leave Japanese service around fiscal 2027. If completed as planned, it would be Japan's first overseas transfer of retired surface combatants under an increasingly flexible defence-equipment transfer framework.

The agreement comes as the two countries deepen security cooperation in response to China's growing maritime activities, having strengthened ties through a reciprocal access agreement and expanded exercises. For Manila, the escorts offer a relatively rapid and cost-effective way to strengthen naval capabilities while new-build warships are delivered under its modernisation programme, though integrating Japanese-built platforms will require adjustments to maintenance, logistics, spare parts and crew training after recent acquisitions centred on South Korean vessels.