By Aaron-Matthew Lariosa*
Washington is funding a project that will expand the maintenance and repair capability of a shipyard in the Philippines frequently used by US Navy warships.
The Subic Drydock Corporation, an American-owned firm operating out of the former US naval station, revealed a partnership with the US Trade and Development Agency last week in Manila during the Luzon Economic Corridor Investment Forum.
According to a statement from the shipyard, the project involves a $1.4 million feasibility study for the expansion of the firm’s existing facilities at Subic Bay. The plan will involve expanding the yard’s approach pier by an additional 169 metres, which the firm claims will create a usable berthing area of more than 270 metres for maintenance, repair and overhaul operations.
“This extension will allow us to accommodate larger vessels and undertake repairs that are currently not possible due to draft and berth limitations. This important project will strengthen our ability to serve select US and Philippine maritime customers while enhancing Subic’s capacity as a regional ship repair hub,” SDC Owner Terry Watkins said in the company news release.
With its Master Ship Repair Agreement status, SDC has serviced US Navy Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transports and Littoral Combat Ships. Various classes from the Military Sealift Command have also docked at the yard and the adjacent Rivera Wharf. The berthing near SDC was used last summer by an Ohio-class guided-missile submarine in a rare visit to Subic Bay.
The shipyard is also used by the Philippine Navy to service its collection of American-made warships, which are docked nearby at their base in Subic Bay. Chinese nationals arrested last year on suspicions of espionage documented ships receiving maintenance at SDC.
“Importantly for Military Sealift Command and the US Navy, this investment expands an established U.S.-owned shipyard that has been executing complex repair projects for U.S. and Philippine government vessels since 2008, supported by an experienced and skilled local workforce,” reads the release.
Around the former American naval base, a mix of forward-deployed Marines and Army troops manage prepositioned stocks of supplies and gear. Contractors such as V2X and KPMG also handle the day to day operations of these facilities. A recent security contract noted the need for an “armed presence capable of deterring and responding to potential adversaries” threatening sensitive equipment staged at Subic Bay.
Subic’s enhanced MRO capabilities also coincides with efforts to strengthen logistical chains across the Philippine archipelago. The Defence Logistics Agency plans to contract a defence logistics support point in Mindanao capable of supporting MSC oilers and US Navy destroyers, USNI News previously reported.
The initiative is the latest move by Washington to strengthen its forward presence in the Philippines amid increasing regional tensions with China. Since the end of the Cold War and the withdrawal of American bases from the Southeast Asian archipelago, US and Philippine forces shifted their efforts against insurgents and counter-terrorism. Currently, coercive threats in the South China Sea and concerns of a spillover of a Taiwan conflict in the Luzon Strait has influenced a return to Subic Bay.
* Aaron-Matthew Lariosa is a freelance defence journalist. His coverage focuses on Philippine defence modernisation, the South China Sea and US efforts in the first island chain. Follow @AaronMatthewI_L
Source: US Naval Institute
