Activists slam delivery of Navy’s new missile boats from Israel

A group of youth activists called the Philippine Navy’s decision to accept the delivery of two new missile boats from Israel as “hypocritical and inhuman” amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

According to a statement on Wednesday, Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK) condemned the Navy, claiming the purchase followed after the Philippines voted for Israel to “unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” during a UN General Assembly.

“The Navy decided to push through with the procurement of ships from an entity which the Philippine government had only a few days ago condemned as an unlawful occupier,” said SPARK National Coordinator John Lazaro.

“The Marcos government and the AFP cannot claim to be defending Filipino fisherfolk’s right to fish in regional waters while procuring weapons from Israel, which violates the Palestinian people’s right to fish freely and peacefully in their own territory,” he added.

The group added that the two missile boats were manufactured by Israel Shipyards. Ltd., which also provided naval vessels to the Israeli Navy that allegedly restricted the movement of Palestinian fisherfolk with a maritime blockade since 2007.

“The Marcos government says one thing on the international stage and does another. Every peso spent by the Marcos government purchasing Israeli weapons is a peso fueling genocide against Palestine and a peso endangering the lives of Filipinos in Palestine and Lebanon,” Lazaro said.

On September 24, two fast attack interdiction craft (FAIC) from Israel were delivered to the Philippine Navy in South Harbor, Manila.

The two 95-ton FAICs are equipped with the Israeli Spike-NLOS (non-line of sight) surface to surface missile system, and have a top speed of 40 knots (74 kph) and have a range of 1,900 km at 17 knots (28 kph).

The two vessels are the latest additions to the Philippines’ military inventory as the country attempts to bolster its defense capability amid rising tensions in the region. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/RF, GMA Integrated News