PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed concern over the reported presence of a Russian attack submarine in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
“All of that is very concerning. Any intrusion into the West Philippine Sea, of our EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone), of our baselines is very worrisome,” President Marcos said in a media interview in Marikina City on Monday.
The President said he would let the military deal with the submarine issue.
The Philippine Navy reported it monitored the presence of the Russian attack submarine last week. It was identified as the Russian Navy’s Ufa.
The sub was first seen 80 nautical miles west off Occidental Mindoro last November 28.
The Navy immediately dispatched an aircraft and a warship to track Ufa’s movements, which did not submerge as it moved slowly outside the country’s territorial waters. It was monitored by the Navy’s BRP Jose Rizal throughout its passage.
The one spotted in WPS is a Russian Kilo-class submarine, a diesel-electric attack vessel designed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s, the Navy said. It remains a crucial asset in the Russian Navy, it added.
Though old in design, the Kilo-class has been modernized over the decades, leading to the Improved Kilo II (Project 636.3) variant introduced between 2014 and 2016.
