The United States will fund and construct two boat maintenance hubs on the western coast of Palawan, near contested areas of the South China Sea.
According to the U.S. embassy, one will be built at a Naval Detachment Oyster Bay in Ulugan Bay in Puerto Princesa and the other in the coastal town of Quezon.
The facilities will reportedly include two multi-purpose interior rooms that can be used for equipment storage or as conference spaces.
The U.S. Embassy said the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command issued two public solicitations on July 7, inviting private contractors to oversee the design and construction of the boat maintenance facilities.
According to the solicitation documents obtained by USNI News, the facility planned for Quezon is designed to accommodate at least five fast boats, including “assault boats,” which will be built by U.S.-based manufacturer ReconCraft. The company specializes in producing vessels for law enforcement and military operations, particularly for rapid interdiction missions.
In a statement, Glenda Wallace, spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines, clarified that “the boat maintenance facility is not a military base.”
“The project is approved by the government of the Philippines in accordance with all applicable US and Philippine local rules and regulations,” Wallace also said.
Palawan faces the South China Sea, where Beijing claims nearly all territorial waters despite disputes with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan. The Philippine military’s Western Command, based in Palawan, oversees naval and air patrols in the region.
