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Coastal Defense Regiment

The Philippine Marine Coastal Defense regiment, headed by Col. Romulo Quemado II, was activated 07 August 2020. The Marines said this unit was designed to protect the country’s shores, ships and amphibious task forces against an invading enemy and to improve support of naval operations.

Under the newly-approved Archipelagic Coastal Defense concept, the Marines will undertake seaward, landward and supporting maneuvers. This concept was concretized with the activation in 2019 by the Marines of its Coastal Defense Regiment. The US field manual defines coastal defense “in its broadest sense, (to) include all measures taken to provide the protection against any form of attack at or near the shoreline as well as within the combat zone, immediately in the rear thereof.”

The Philippine Marines Corp’s Coastal Defense Regiment for its part was activated “to protect the country’s shores, ships, and amphibious task forces against an invading enemy and to improve support of naval operations.” The unit’s basic concept of operation calls for the use of “shore-based anti-ship and air defense system batteries to provide land-based fire against enemy surface and air targets that are approaching… the coastal areas.”

The Marines will not only have firepower but will provide maneuver forces to support Navy, Air Force and other ground forces in joint operations. It can also support maritime law enforcement, border control and internal security operations.

The presence of the Coastal Defense Regiment will also enhance the protection of our territorial waters and aquatic resources and uphold Philippine sovereignty. Fittingly, the approval of the Archipelagic Coastal Defense concept came 500 years after Lapu-Lapu’s victory over Magellan and the Spanish forces in the Battle of Mactan — the very first, and extremely successful, coastal defense in Philippine history.

The Coastal Defense Regiment of the Philippine Marines is the unit that will use the land-based variant of the BrahMos PJ-10 missile, produced through a joint venture between India and Russia. The name BrahMos comes from fusing the names of the Brahmaputra and Moscow rivers in India and Russia, respectively. These mobile missile systems are seen to be a significant improvement in the Philippines’ ability to defend its coastlines amid a territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea.