Washington’s provision of advanced boat drones to Manila will act as “a force multiplier” for the Philippine Navy, analysts say, allowing the US to enhance its ally’s surveillance and operational capabilities in the South China Sea while avoiding direct provocations that could escalate Beijing’s territorial challenges.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that the US government has given the Philippine Navy an undisclosed number of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for its operations in the West Philippine Sea – Manila’s term for the parts of the South China Sea that lie within its exclusive economic zone and the Kalayaan Island Group in the Spratlys – on Tuesday during a two-day visit to the Philippines.
He promised that “many more” would be delivered before the end of the Biden administration.
“We expect to see many more platforms like this delivered with the US$500M in foreign military financing that I announced during my visit in July, to help ensure that the Philippines has the capabilities and means to defend its rights and its sovereignty throughout its exclusive economic zone (EEZ),” Austin said during a press conference with Philippine defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr in Puerto Princesa, Palawan – a province facing the West Philippine Sea that hosts a joint US-Philippine military facility.
Austin reiterated that the US was “profoundly committed to the defence of the Philippines” and its Mutual Defence Treaty with Manila “applies to armed attacks on either of our armed forces, aircraft or public vessels, including our coastguards, anywhere in the South China Sea.”
“The Philippines is not an ally, it’s family,” Teodoro quoted Austin as telling him earlier. “And he certainly has proven it,” Teodoro added.
Tuesday’s joint press conference featured a video demonstration by the Philippine Navy of the capabilities of the USV, in this case the Mantas T-12 manufactured by Maritime Tactical Systems (Martac).
At 3.6 metres long with a payload capacity of 64 kilograms, the T-12 is Martac’s most popular model. It can detect mines, conduct surveillance, perform search and rescue operations, and engage in electronic warfare and swarming operations.
Alessio Patalano, professor of War & Strategy in East Asia at the King’s College London’s Department of War Studies, told This Week in Asia on Tuesday that “this new capability is designed to conduct basic reconnaissance and surveillance activities”.
Its autonomy and payload capacity allow it to collect data essential for improving the situational awareness process at the core of maritime domain awareness (MDA), he said.
In a 2006 report, the US Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific defined MDA as the ability to detect and identify vessels of interest and assess whether they are friends or foes.
Patalano said the T-12 is not typically employed in combat operations, but this specific model is “better suited for data collection and surveillance, which in turn can support other maritime operations” in the Philippines’ territorial waters and EEZ.
“This is a positive development for the Philippines because this new type of assets enables the navy to enhance its monitoring and surveillance capabilities at affordable cost … [and] play to its transparency strategy.”
Alessio Patalano, professor of War & Strategy in East Asia at the King’s College London’s Department of War Studies, told This Week in Asia on Tuesday that “this new capability is designed to conduct basic reconnaissance and surveillance activities”.
Its autonomy and payload capacity allow it to collect data essential for improving the situational awareness process at the core of maritime domain awareness (MDA), he said.
In a 2006 report, the US Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific defined MDA as the ability to detect and identify vessels of interest and assess whether they are friends or foes.
Patalano said the T-12 is not typically employed in combat operations, but this specific model is “better suited for data collection and surveillance, which in turn can support other maritime operations” in the Philippines’ territorial waters and EEZ.
“This is a positive development for the Philippines because this new type of assets enables the navy to enhance its monitoring and surveillance capabilities at affordable cost … [and] play to its transparency strategy.”
Singaporean security analyst Collin Koh, a materials engineer by training, told This Week in Asia that “theoretically” the T-12 could deliver limited cargo. “If there’s a critical mass of these USVs, they could carry a whole lot more in total and could also swarm China’s cordon around the outpost.”
“The key concern is whether the Chinese would try to interdict these vessels using physical means or at least via electronic jamming,” Koh said, who is also a senior fellow at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.
“Knowing that these vessels are unmanned and hence zero risk to Filipino personnel safety, the Chinese might be more inclined to interdict them.”
Australian-based defence and security analyst Max Montero added that the T-12 can also be used for “target guidance for munitions, and with the appropriate equipment it is said to be able to conduct limited anti-submarine surveillance or detection.”
“They are unarmed, but it does not stop the end user to even use it as a suicide drone equipped with explosives,” he told This Week in Asia.
