A Congressman Seeks US to Donate Guided Missile Cruiser to the Philippines

17 Oktober 2024

USS Philippine Sea (CG58) guided missile cruiser, is equipped with 2x127mm main gun, 2x61 sel VLS (untuk SAM, ASROC, Tomahawk), 8x SSM, 2x triple torpedo tubes, 2x CIWS, 2x 25mm gun and 2-4x 12.7mm gun (photos: Seaforces)

House rep seeks US donation of ship named after Battle of the Philippine Sea

MANILA — A congressman is asking the US government to donate guided missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG58) to the Philippines when it is decommissioned, saying doing so would be “apropos and relevant” to issues in the West Philippine Sea.

“I am sure that it will be a big asset in our efforts to defend our territorial waters, our sovereign rights, and our personnel and fishermen from intruders,” Cagayan De Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said in a release Tuesday.

He said he has written to US State Secretary Antony Blinken, US Defense Secretary Lloyd James Austin III and US Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson about the request.

The ship, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, is the second US Navy ship named after the World War II Battle of the Philippine Sea and is "projected for inactivation" in Fiscal Year 2025, according to the Naval News website.

USS Leyte Gulf (CG55), another missile cruiser named after a World War II naval battle in the Philippines, was decommissioned in September.

Rodriguez said, the donation “will be a very good gesture and it will further strengthen the iron-clad commitment and strong friendship between the United States of America and the Philippines.”

The Philippine military has made upgrading its external defense capabilities a priority amid tension in the West Philippine Sea.

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