US House panel orders study of possible ammunition manufacturing in Subic
US lawmakers are exploring the possibility of establishing a joint ammunition manufacturing facility in Subic Bay, amid concerns about the lack of a forward-staged similar installation in the Indo-Pacific.
In its report dated June 16, the US House Committee on Appropriations directed the US Department of Defense to assess the feasibility of establishing a joint ammunition manufacturing and storage facility in Subic Bay.
"The Committee is concerned with the lack of a forward-staged ammunition manufacturing facility in the Indo-Pacific," the US House committee said in its report.
"Therefore, the Committee directs the Department of Defense to assess, in coordination with the Department of State and the International Development Finance Corporation, the feasibility of establishing a joint ammunition manufacturing and storage facility at United States Naval Base Subic Bay," it added.
"The facility would enable the forward staging of ammunition stockpiles and related materials such as nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, and acid. The Committee directs the Secretary of Defense to provide an update on the progress of this feasibility study within 60 days of the enactment of this Act," it added.
The US maintained a naval base in Subic Bay until 1991, after the Senate voted against a new bases treaty between the two countries.
It is now under the jurisdiction of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, the operating and implementing arm of the Philippine government for the development of the Subic Bay Freeport. –NB, GMA Integrated News
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