FACT CHECK: PH did not buy UK warship HMS Queen Elizabeth

Claim: The Philippines bought the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth from the United Kingdom.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The claim was made in a video posted by a YouTube channel with 19,200 subscribers. The video has 288,000 views, 3,900 likes, and 380 comments as of writing. 

The bottom line: The Philippines has not purchased the HMS Queen Elizabeth. No announcements of the supposed purchase can be found on the Philippine Navy’s website and official Facebook page, nor on the official Facebook page of the British embassy in the Philippines. There are also no news reports regarding Manila’s supposed acquisition of the vessel.

The carrier is currently in the arsenal of the UK Royal Navy, as listed on its official website, and is currently on deployment with the UK Carrier Strike Group.  

The 65,000-ton aircraft carrier is the UK Navy’s flagship and is described as “the largest and most powerful vessel ever constructed for the Royal Navy” capable of carrying up to 40 aircraft. 

Freedom of navigation: In 2021, the HMS Queen Elizabeth was part of the carrier strike group deployed by the UK to demonstrate freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, according to a report from the Philippine News Agency. The deployment also aimed to promote closer relations between the Philippines and the UK, Inquirer.net reported.

Previous false claims: Rappler has previously debunked claims regarding the acquisition of military assets such as helicopters, ships, and jets:

• FACT CHECK: The Philippines didn’t buy an MV-22 Osprey helicopter from the US
• FACT CHECK: Video does not show PH ships sent to the West Philippine Sea
• FACT CHECK: PH didn’t buy 24 A-10 fighter jets from the US

– Katarina Ruflo/Rappler.com

Katarina Ruflo is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.