US to build two boat repair facilities in Palawan
Published Jul 16, 2025 12:22 pm
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Updated Jul 16, 2025 03:26 pm
The United States Embassy in Manila confirmed on Wednesday, July 16, that it will build two new boat maintenance facilities in Palawan, near the disputed features of the West Philippine Sea.
Flags of United States and the Philippines (Photo from US Embassy in Manila)
In a statement, the embassy said that its US Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command issued two public solicitations on July 7 for the design and construction of the facilities – one at the Naval Detachment in Oyster Bay, and another in Quezon municipality, both in Palawan, under the same diplomatic and legal conditions.
It also clarified that the facility “is not a military base.”
“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 stated.
The embassy insisted that the project has been approved by the Philippines “in accordance with all applicable US and Philippine local rules and regulations.”
“Our US 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.
“All of our military activities in the Philippines are done in full coordination with our Philippine allies,” it furthered.
The Naval Detachment Oyster Bay in Palawan serves as one of the departure points for small vessels contracted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for its rotation and resupply (RoRe) missions to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.
Only small vessels can approach the grounded warship because of its position in the shoal’s shallow waters since 1999. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) escorts the vessels.
The Ayungin Shoal, however, has been the site of several confrontations between Manila and Beijing, which have been repeatedly criticized by the United States.
China has sweeping claims in the West Philippine Sea, including the Ayungin Shoal, but this was dismissed by the 2016 arbitral victory that Beijing continues to reject.
The tension between the Philippines and China has pushed the former into a closer defense and security relationship with its long-time ally, the United States, building on agreements such as the 1951 MDT and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).