THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is again seeking the assistance of the Japanese government for the construction of three more vessels to further boost its capacity to respond to various maritime challenges in Philippine waters.

'If you remember, [Japan] helped us acquire ten multirole response vessels (MRRVs) and the two large ships that we have today. We still have a request from the Japanese government to help us with three more large ships under the Japan International Cooperation Agreement (JICA),' PCG spokesman Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said in a public briefing on Friday.