ABSTRACT
On 14 December 2011, the Philippine Navy (PN) commissioned a second-hand, 1965 vintage, Hamilton-class cutter from the United States (U.S.). Called BRP (Boat of the Republic of the Philippines) Gregorio del Pilar, the cutter acts as the Philippines’ flagship. Soon after its acquisition, the PN deployed BRP Gregorio del Pilar to the South China Sea (now called the West Philippine Sea by the Philippine government) in order to patrol the waters surrounding the Kalayaan Group of Islands.
