Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos was reported to have met with Hanwha Ocean management at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held on the 1st in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, to discuss the Philippines' plan to acquire submarines.
According to foreign media including GMA News, President Marcos, who is visiting Korea to attend the APEC summit, discussed the Philippine Navy's plan to acquire submarines with Hanwha Ocean that day. Marcos was said to have been offered support for training Philippine Navy commanders and crews using a local submarine base, a maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) center, and advanced simulators.
In addition, a Hanwha Ocean official was reported to have discussed with Marcos plans to deploy the "Dosan Ahn Chang-ho–class" submarine (SS-III, 3,000-ton class) equipped with low-noise lithium-ion battery technology. Hanwha Ocean was said to have explained the sonar (acoustic detector) and combat system performance of the Ahn Chang-ho–class submarine, as well as its submerged endurance.
To strengthen capabilities in the South China Sea, Marcos is pushing for the Philippine military's first submarine acquisition through the Phase 3 Armed Forces modernization plan, approved in Feb. last year with a budget of 2 trillion Philippine pesos (about 4.88 trillion won). At the time, Marcos said South Korea, France, Spain and Italy had expressed interest in supplying submarines.
Earlier, the Philippines introduced 12 FA-50 multirole fighters from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and plans to purchase 12 more going forward. It also placed orders with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for 10 warships, including frigates, patrol vessels and offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).
Meanwhile, on the 30th of last month, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had approved South Korea's plan to build a nuclear-powered submarine. At the time, Trump said the nuclear-powered submarine would be built at the Philadelphia Shipyard, a subsidiary of Hanwha Ocean in the United States.
On the same day, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Hanwha Ocean's Geoje business site in Geoje, South Gyeongsang, with Prime Minister Kim Min-seok. Carney viewed scenes of robots welding ships and the interior of the Jang Young-sil, which was launched as a new-class submarine for the Korean Navy. Canada is pursuing a next-generation submarine acquisition program worth up to 60 trillion won.