West PH Sea: PH OKs US plan to build boat facilities in 2 Palawan areas

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(UPDATED) MANILA, Philippines — The government has approved a US proposal to build two new boat maintenance facilities (BMF) in Palawan — one in a naval detachment in Puerto Princesa and another in the coastal Quezon town — both of which are facing a key tension hotspot in the West Philippine Sea.

The US embassy confirmed on Wednesday the planned BMFs at the Naval Detachment Oyster Bay in Ulugan Bay and in Quezon town.

According to the embassy, the US Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command issued two public solicitations for private contractors regarding the BMF’s design and construction on July 7.

“The project is approved by the government of the Philippines,” the embassy said of the Oyster Bay project.

The BMF project in Quezon town is also “under the same diplomatic and legal conditions” under the Naval Detachment Oyster Bay, according to the embassy.

According to the embassy, the BMFs will provide repair and maintenance capabilities for several small watercraft of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and will feature two multipurpose interior rooms suitable for “equipment storage or conference use.”

The embassy also emphasized that “the boat maintenance facility is not a military base.”

Quezon, a coastal town, is just over 200 kilometers away from Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, where the naval outpost BRP Sierra Madre is aground.

As for Naval Detachment Oyster Bay, it serves as one of the departure points for AFP-contracted vessels used in the rotation and resupply (RoRe) missions to BRP Sierra Madre.

Mainly escorted by Philippine Coast Guard ships, only smaller vessels can approach the World War II-era warship, which has remained grounded in the shallow waters since 1999.

The RoRe mission to Ayungin Shoal on June 17, 2024, marked the most violent confrontation between Manila and Beijing, resulting in the amputation of a Philippine Navy personnel’s thumb.

Beijing claims sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, but this was dismissed by a landmark international arbitral tribunal ruling in 2016, which upheld Manila’s sovereign rights within the western portion of its exclusive economic zone.

In 2024, former U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III revealed the existence of “U.S. Task Force Ayungin” based in Palawan.

However, the Pentagon later clarified that the task force is limited to providing support—such as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance—in the West Philippine Sea, without direct involvement in RoRe missions to Ayungin Shoal.

“All of our military activities in the Philippines are done in full coordination with our Philippine allies,” the US embassy said.

READ: West PH Sea: Austin reveals existence of ‘US Task Force Ayungin’

In 2024, AFP Chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. confirmed that the United States had offered to escort Philippine ships during RoRe missions. However, he said, “we will depend on ourselves first, and we will try to exhaust all options before asking for help.”

READ: Brawner happy about US’ help in West Philippine Sea ops

Manila and Washington are bound by the Mutual Defense Treaty, which calls for each other’s defense in the event of an external “armed attack.”/mcm /das