The Department of National Defense (DND) said aside from Russia, there are three other countries offering to supply submarines to the Philippines.

“We intend to look at all other possibilities... offers by other countries so that includes Russia but we are also studying the offers of Korea. I think France, I think Indonesia as well,” said Arsenio Andolong, DND spokesman, in Camp Aguinaldo Wednesday.

Andolong said these submarines are powered by diesel-electric but did not say which the three countries were.

“I’m not yet sure. Korea makes submarines and Indonesia I think it was a technology transfer also from Russia to Indonesia so I’m not sure what particular submarine (they offered),” he said.

“These are electric definitely. We cannot afford nuclear powered submarines. I think that is the stand of the President that do not use missiles that carry nuclear. We are still studying that but definitely at the moment it’s out of the picture,” he added.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had said Russia is offering its Kilo Class diesel submarines to the Philippines.

He said the Russian government is willing to provide soft loans for the submarine acquisition project for the Philippine Navy.

The submarine acquisition project for the Philippine Navy is part of the second horizon of the revised modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippine amounting to around 300 billion pesos.

The second horizon of the AFP modernization, which is expected to run from 2018 up to 2022, was approved by Duterte last May. Robina Asido/DMS