The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The Philippines is pitching the former Hanjin Subic Shipyard as a potential hub for building US Navy warships, as Washington ramps up efforts to expand its fleet over the next 30 years.
“Subic… could possibly be part of what the United States is looking at,” Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said Thursday at the US-ASEAN Business Council meeting.
Romualdez said the US is reviving its shipbuilding industry after decades of stagnation, while the Philippines already has active facilities. Proposals to manufacture US warships in the now Agila Subic multi-use facility have been raised in earlier talks with the Pentagon.
In 2022, US-based Cerberus Capital Management acquired the yard, which is projected to employ 4,000 workers by 2025. Among its tenants is HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Philippines, set to be fully operational next year.
The ambassador also urged US investors to deepen defense industrial partnerships, including plans for ammunition and drone manufacturing plants. “Economic strength is the foundation of strategic strength,” Romualdez said.
US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson echoed optimism, citing a “positive upward trajectory” in defense and security ties.
The US-ASEAN Business Council brought 35 American firms to the country from Aug. 11 to 14 — the largest US business mission here to date — with 26 of them from the defense and security sectors.