Latest news with #USNavalFacilitiesEngineeringSystemsCommand
The Star
17-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
US plans to build boat repair facility in Philippines' Palawan island
The planned facility on Palawan will be used to repair and maintain several small Philippine military watercraft and will include two interior rooms for equipment storage or conference use. - PDI MANILA: The US is planning to build a boat maintenance facility at a Philippine naval detachment near the disputed South China Sea. The US Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command issued last week a public solicitation for the design and construction of the new facility at Oyster Bay in the western province of Palawan, Washington's embassy in Manila said in a statement on Wednesday (July 15). The planned facility will be used to repair and maintain several small Philippine military watercraft and will include two interior rooms for equipment storage or conference use, according to the statement. "The boat maintenance facility is not a military base,' the embassy said, adding that the Philippine government approved it following local regulations. The project shows how the US and the Philippines under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr are strengthening their defence alliance, in the face of China's assertiveness in the South China Sea. Under Marcos, the US gained expanded access to Philippine military bases and deployed weapons to the South-East Asian nation. Growing US-Philippine ties have irked China, which claims almost the entirety of the energy-rich waterway despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling invalidating these claims. - Bloomberg
Filipino Times
16-07-2025
- Business
- Filipino Times
US to build boat maintenance facility in Palawan to boost PH maritime capability
The United States is set to build a boat maintenance facility in Palawan, the US Embassy in the Philippines announced Tuesday. In a statement, the embassy said the US Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command issued a public solicitation on July 7 for the design and construction of the facility at the Naval Detachment Oyster Bay. The facility will provide repair and maintenance capabilities for several small Philippine military watercraft. It will also include two multi-purpose interior rooms for equipment storage or conference use. The embassy clarified that the facility is not a US military base and has been approved by the Philippine government in accordance with local laws and regulations of both countries. 'Our U.S.-Philippine alliance, with its roots in the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, remains a cornerstone of peace and security, promoting our common vision for a free, open, and resilient Indo-Pacific,' the embassy said. The planned facility will be located near the West Philippine Sea, where tensions remain high due to China's sweeping claims over the South China Sea, including parts within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China's expansive claims had no legal basis. China has refused to recognize the ruling.
GMA Network
16-07-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
US Navy to build boat maintenance facility in Palawan
The United States Navy is set to construct a boat maintenance facility in Palawan, according to the US Embassy in the Philippines. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the embassy said the US Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command on July 7 issued a public solicitation for the design and construction of the new facility at the Naval Detachment Oyster Bay. 'The facility will provide repair and maintenance capabilities for several small Philippine military watercraft and will include two multi-purpose interior rooms suitable for equipment storage or conference use,' it said. The US embassy noted that the boat maintenance facility is 'not a military base.' According to the US embassy, the project is approved by the Philippine government in accordance with all applicable local rules and regulations of the two countries. 'Our U.S. Philippine alliance with its roots in the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty remains a cornerstone of peace and security, promoting our common vision for a free, open, and resilient Indo-Pacific,' it said. 'All of our military activities in the Philippines are done in full coordination with our Philippine allies,' it added. The location of the planned US military facility is near the West Philippine Sea where there is an ongoing tension between the Philippines and China. Tensions continue as Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. Parts of the South China Sea that fall within Philippine territory have been renamed by the government as West Philippine Sea to reinforce the country's claim. The West Philippine Sea refers to the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago including Luzon Sea and the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis." China has refused to recognize the decision. —KG, GMA Integrated News
