A number of companies in the Philippines are interested in joining a potential consortium that would establish an ammunition production facility in Subic, according to the Philippine envoy to the United States.
Speaking to the Philippine media delegation, Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez said an ammunition production facility would also generate employment in the country.
“Obviously, we’re open to that one, because it’s a good way of being able to help a combination of both defense and economic cooperation between the Philippines and the United States,” Romualdez said.
Earlier, it was reported that U.S. lawmakers were exploring the possibility of establishing a joint ammunition manufacturing facility in Subic Bay.
In a report dated June 16, the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations directed the U.S. Department of Defense to assess the feasibility of establishing a joint ammunition manufacturing and storage facility in the area.
The facility would enable the forward staging of ammunition stockpiles and related materials such as nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, and acid.
Vice President Sara Duterte, however, criticized the envoy’s statement that the Philippines is open to producing ammunition in the country to enhance defense ties with the United States. Duterte, currently in The Hague, Netherlands, to visit her detained father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, said the move would undermine the country’s independent foreign policy.
“Our Constitution states that we must have an independent foreign policy. If what the government is doing is only for the benefit of another country, that means we no longer have a truly independent policy,” Duterte said in an interview on Monday.
“So I should not be the only one opposing this plan. All Filipinos should oppose it because our actions must serve the interest of our country—not of others,” she added.
