![\"Hanwha](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/marcos-hanwha-1024x733.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\nSouth Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean formally pitched to Philippines\u2019 President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. its bid to build KSS-III PN submarines for the Philippine Navy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Hanwha Ocean executives met with Mr. Marcos Jr. on Saturday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders\u2019 meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, to discuss the company\u2019s offer.<\/p>\n
As part of its proposal, Hanwha Ocean offered to construct a submarine base, establish a local maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) center, and provide comprehensive training for Filipino naval operators, maintainers, and commanders using advanced simulators and systems.<\/p>\n
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South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean executives meet with Philippines\u2019 President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to discuss their offer to sell KSS-III PN submarines to the Philippine Navy.<\/p>\n
\u201cExecutives of Hanwha Ocean informed the President of their plans for the deployment of KSS-III PN submarines equipped with modern sonar and combat systems and lithium-ion batteries for longer underwater endurance, along with technology transfer and partnerships with local industries to advance the Philippines\u2019 self-reliant defense capability,\u201d the PCO said.<\/p>\n
The KSS-III PN is derived from the Republic of Korea Navy\u2019s KSS-III Batch II submarine class, with a displacement of approximately 2,800 tons. Hanwha Ocean had previously presented the KSS-III PN and Ocean 1400 PN models to the Philippine Navy for evaluation.<\/p>\n
The Philippines remains among the few countries in the region without a submarine fleet, a gap that underscores the urgency of its modernization drive. Hanwha faces stiff competition from other global defense contractors, including France\u2019s Naval Group with its Scorp\u00e8ne-class submarines, Spain\u2019s Navantia with the S-80PN, and a joint bid by Italy\u2019s Fincantieri and Germany\u2019s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS)<\/a> offering the Type U212 NFS (Near Future Submarine).<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the country aims to acquire at least two submarines as part of its defense modernization program.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a dream for us to get at least two submarines,\u201d Brawner said. \u201cWe are an archipelago, so we need this kind of capability because it\u2019s really difficult to defend the entire archipelago without submarines.\u201d<\/p>\n The Philippine government has committed to allocate around \u20b12 trillion (approximately US$35 billion) over the next decade to strengthen its military capabilities amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n