US House panel’s push for Subic ammo plant ‘not surprising’—envoy

The possible establishment of an ammunition factory and depot in the former American base in Subic, Zambales, is not surprising, United States Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson said on Thursday, July 3, 2025. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — The possible establishment of an ammunition factory and depot in the former American base in Subic, Zambales, is not surprising, United States Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson said on Thursday.

In its June 16 report, the US 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.

“I am not surprised, given the very strong bipartisan support for the Philippines in the US Congress, that they’re also looking at ways that they can continue to enhance US-Philippines defense cooperation here in the Philippines,” Carlson said in an interview on the sidelines of the U.S independence day celebration in Makati City.

Carlson reiterated that both US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Department of National Defense chief Gilberto Teodoro Jr. talked about the prospects of having a defense-related co-production facility during the former’s visit here in March.

Teodoro welcomed the development, but he noted that Manila has yet to receive any formal proposal from Washington about such a move.

READ: Teodoro on US proposed Subic ammo plant: It’s definitely encouraged

The US House committee on appropriations has expressed concern “with the lack of a forward-staged ammunition manufacturing facility in the Indo-Pacific.”

The Philippines is part of the “first island chain”, which experts view as Washington’s first line of defense against Beijing’s expansion in the Pacific.

Seen by some experts as a response to the island chain strategy, Beijing has continuously made aggressive actions against the Filipino coast guard, navy, and fisherfolk in asserting its sovereignty claim in almost the entire South China Sea.

However, the historic arbitral tribunal ruling in 2016 effectively dismissed Beijing’s overlapping claims while ruling heavily in favor of Manila’s sovereign rights in the western section of its exclusive economic zone.

Manila and Washington are bound by the Mutual Defense Treaty, which calls for each other’s defense in case of an armed attack./coa