The Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC) will participate in a joint exercise in the Philippines this October for the first time. The South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup held talks with his Filipino counterpart Delfin Lorenzana on and agreed on the inclusion of the Korean Marine Corps as a part of enhanced security cooperation between the two nations. Assessing that discussions with a Korean firm to build patrol frigates for Manila is progressing smoothly, Lee stressed that interoperability with Korean vessels will contribute to advancing the Philippine Navy’s combat power.
The Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana thanked South Korea for its role in modernizing his country’s military and expressed hope that defense sector cooperation will continue. The two sides also noted bilateral trust, friendship and partnership ties developed over the years. They agreed to facilitate regular military exchanges including the resumption of a vice ministerial joint committee that has been postponed due to the pandemic. Secretary Lorenzana also extended his congratulations on the launch of a new Korean government and expressed unwavering support for Seoul’s denuclearization efforts.
The Philippine Marine Corps (PMC; Hukbong Kawal Pandagat ng Pilipinas) is a naval infantry force under the command of the Philippine Navy. To improve the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) capability to meet its purpose of assaulting and deployment of Marine forces through the sea. South Korea’s Samsung Techwin Techwin (now Hanwha Defense Systems) was awarded a contract to supply KAAV-7A1 amphibious assault vehicles, which are license-built copies of the BAE Systems AAV7A1. The project was established to equip the Philippine Marine Corps with which a armoured vehicle that can be deployed from the Makassar LPDs. The Makassar class is a class of South Korean-designed and built Landing Platform Dock (LPD), it is named after the city of Makassar in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
The Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC; Daehanminguk Haebyeongdae), also known as the ROK Marine Corps or ROK Marines, is the marine corps of South Korea. The ROKMC is a branch of the Republic of Korea Navy responsible for amphibious operations, and also functions as a rapid reaction force and a strategic reserve. The ROK Marine Corps, with 29,000 personnel, is organized into two divisions and two separate brigades under the Headquarters ROK Marine Corps. The ROK Marine Corps has about 300 tracked vehicles including assault amphibious vehicles, main battle tanks, and self-propelled artillery.
