Taiwan donated the decommissioned frigate Kinmen to the Philippines and renamed it Sarangani and officially entered service

The Chinese government donated a decommissioned 500-ton patrol ship to the Philippines. The local non-governmental organization "WPS Foundation" and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) completed the signing last month and officially entered service yesterday. It is pointed out that the Philippines has determined that the ship will mainly enhance its capabilities to cope with the increasingly complex maritime environment, strengthen maritime security, law enforcement, search and rescue, disaster response and environmental protection tasks, and support peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. In addition, the Philippines understands the pressure of public opinion within our country, and the ship will be stationed in the waters of Mindanao in the southern Philippines to avoid our doubts.

The "WPS Foundation" (We Protect Our Seas) issued a statement saying that the Taiwan Coast Guard's decommissioned patrol rescue ship "Kinmen" has begun serving in the Philippine Coast Guard under its new identity of BRP Sarangani, with hull number 6177.

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According to the post, the Kinmen ship was built in 2008. It is about 61 meters long, 11.7 meters wide, and has a displacement of about 688 tons. After being renovated and serving as the Sarangani ship, it can be used to perform civilian tasks such as maritime patrol, search and rescue, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, marine protection, and training.

It is understood that the Philippines also has special meaning for the ship's hull number and name. Among them, the hull number: 6177 means that it is a 61-meter class, and 77 means luck, indicating a complete success of the mission. As for the name of the ship: Sarangani, it is the birthplace of Philippine Coast Guard Commander Gavin to pay tribute to him. Commander Gavin, on behalf of the Philippine government, signed our donation contract with Daniel O, Chairman of the "WPS Foundation" last month.

The foundation stated that this donation reflects the progress of practical cooperation in maritime security and search and rescue between the Philippines and Taiwan following the "Guangdao Fishing Boat" incident in 2013. The two sides have since committed to preventing similar incidents from happening again and promoting cooperation in maritime security and search and rescue.

Foundation Chairman O'Daniel told CNA that we have found a pragmatic way to respect the Philippines' current foreign policy while advancing national interests and further promoting regional maritime safety and security.