A video posted on YouTube is claiming that France recently sent 49 warships to the Philippines to counter China in the West Philippine Sea. This is false.
Published on March 6, the erroneous video carried a thumbnail supposedly showing the warships with a title that read:
“France sent 49 warships and built a shipyard in the Philippines to counter china in wps”
France has not sent 49 warships to the Philippines, nor has there been a shipyard built for such vessels.
The Philippine Coast Guard only said last year that in 2027, it will acquire 49 new ships from France and Japan.
“Starting 2027, we will be adding at least 49 ships to our fleet. So that will more than double the capability of the Philippine coastguard,” Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Ronnie Gil Gavan was quoted in a news report by the South China Morning Post on Nov. 13, 2024.
Under the agreement, France also guarantees local vessel production and technology transfer to expand the Philippine Coast Guard force to 7,000 personnel by 2026.
The erroneous video surfaced almost two weeks after France joined a maritime cooperative activity with the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea last Feb. 22, involving five of its military units.
The French fleet consisted of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, the multi-mission frigate Provence, the supply vessel Jacques Chevallier, the air defense destroyer Forbin, and the Aquitaine-class frigate Alsace.
The YouTube video has since garnered 13,000 views, 492 likes and 28 comments. The channel Global Security Report, (created June 9, 2022) was previously flagged by VERA Files for posting false claims related to the dispute in the West Philippines Sea (U.S. did NOT bomb Chinese vessels in West Philippine Sea).
