Philippine hopes to buy HK's boats

Philippine hopes to buy HK's boats

HONG KONG (Reuter): The Philippines hopes to buy three naval patrol boats as Britain slashes its military presence and sells off Hong Kong military hardware ahead of the colony's 1997 return to China, a newspaper said yesterday.

But a British defense official said that discussions were continuing, and no deal had yet been completed on the sale of the Peacock, the Plover and the Starling. A number of parties had expressed an interest, the official added.

The South China Morning Post quoted sources as saying the Philippines had offered to buy the three, 62-meter (217-foot) ships, which were acquired in 1981 to patrol Hong Kong waters.

The British colony will return to Chinese control at midnight next June 30, and Beijing will deploy its own defense forces in the territory after the handover.