Teodoro on US-proposed Subic ammo plant: It’s ‘definitely encouraged’
Gilberto Teodoro Jr, Secretary of National Defense of the Philippines, delivers his speech during the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Monday welcomed the proposed ammunition factory and depot in the former American base in Subic, a move that an analyst said would be a milestone in the country’s bid for arms self-sufficiency.
In its June 16 report, the United States’ House committee on appropriations ordered federal agencies in charge of defense and foreign policy, as well as their government’s investment arm, to assess “the feasibility of establishing a joint ammunition manufacturing and storage facility” at the former US Naval Base Subic Bay.
Teodoro noted, however, that Manila has yet to receive any formal proposal from Washington about such a move.
“Any production entity which will lead to the benefit of the Philippines, not only in terms of our resilience but also improving, giving employment, and other technological transfers, is definitely encouraged,” Teodoro said in a press conference with his Lithuanian counterpart, Dovilė Šakalienė.
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He further noted that such a move is expected from Washington, a longtime ally and a treaty partner of Manila.
Both nations are bound by the Mutual Defense Treaty, which calls for each other’s defense in case of an armed attack.
Security expert Chester Cabalza welcomed the possible construction of such a facility, which he said would be in line with the Marcos administration’s Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) Act, which aims to develop the country’s defense industry by finding ways to boost the local production of defense materiel and ammunition.
“The collaboration and establishment of forward-stages ammunition manufacturing in Subic is a milestone [that would] revitalize [the] SRDP and national defense industry of the Philippines,” Cabalza, president and founder of Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, said in an interview with INQUIRER.net on Monday.
In its report, the US Committee on Appropriations expressed concern “with the lack of a forward-staged ammunition manufacturing facility in the Indo-Pacific.”
Cabalza said that this move would “also open more doors to the defense industry for Manila in the Indo-Pacific region.”
Furthermore, he noted that such a facility in Subic would “enhance deterrence and forward readiness” since the former American base faces Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, one of the tension hotspots in the West Philippine Sea.
But a left-wing confederation of fisherfolk with a presence in Zambales sees such developments as a security threat that would further provoke China.
“We have expelled US military bases and troops before,” the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas said in a statement. “We can’t see any reason why it is strengthening its military presence in our country, but to set the stage for provocative operations against China.”
On Sept. 16, 1991, the Senate voted to reject a treaty that would have prolonged the presence of the Subic naval base and other US military installations in the country.
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