Fact checks about countries

FACT CHECK: Video does not show PH ships sent to the West Philippine Sea

Rappler.com

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FACT CHECK: Video does not show PH ships sent to the West Philippine Sea
The ships shown in the video are Dutch frigates currently in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy

Claim: The Philippines sent its strongest warships to the West Philippine Sea to drive away Chinese vessels. Text in the video claims that the warships were newly acquired by the Philippine Navy.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The claim was made in a YouTube video posted on May 14 that has 8,800 views and 156 likes as of writing. 

Facts: A reverse image search shows that the ships in the video are the De Zeven Provincien Class frigates of the Royal Netherlands Navy. 

The Dutch Navy has four air defense and command frigates, namely the F802 (HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën), F803 (HNLMS Tromp), the F804 (HNLMS De Ruyter), and the F805 (HNLMS Evertsen). They were commissioned between 2002 and 2005 and are currently in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy. 

In March 2023, defense intelligence company Janes reported that the ships are set to undergo major upgrades to sustain and enhance their operational capability. The ships will be receiving major sensor and command system upgrades, along with new artillery.

As of writing, there have been no official news reports of the Philippines acquiring Dutch ships. There are no announcements from the embassy of the Netherlands in the Philippines, the Philippine Navy, nor the Philippine Army.

Rappler has published numerous fact checks as well as a video debunking claims regarding the acquisition of military assets such as helicopters, ships, and jets:

  1. FACT CHECK: PH didn’t buy 24 A-10 fighter jets from the US – Published on May 3, 2023
  2. FACT CHECK: Philippines has not received a warship from Russia – Published on March 17, 2023
  3. PANOORIN: Mga bagong armas mula sa iba’t ibang bansa? Totoo ba? – Published on March 31, 2023 

 – 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.

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