US plan for ammo factory in Subic slammed

Metro Manila, Philippines - A former lawmaker strongly denounced the United States’ reported plan to establish an ammunition factory and storage facility at the former American naval base in Subic Bay.

This comes as the US House committee on appropriations ordered several departments to assess “the feasibility of establishing a joint ammunition manufacturing and storage facility” at the former US Subic Bay Naval Base.

In its report dated June 16, the panel cited “the lack of a forward-staged ammunition manufacturing” in the Indo-Pacific region as its reason.

In response, former Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate warned that the move could be a “magnet for conflict.”

Zarate said that allowing the US to make such a move tramples on Philippine sovereignty and would “dangerously turn the country into a potential military target.”

“Allowing the US to build an ammunition factory and depot in Subic is a direct affront to our national sovereignty and independence. It will not serve the interest of Filipinos, but will rather make our country a pawn and a battleground for superpower conflicts,” Zarate said.

"What the US wants is not to help us, but to use our land as a forward operating base for its own imperial interests in the region,” he added.

The ex-solon challenged the Marcos administration to “truly assert an independent foreign policy” and not “again bow down to US dictates at the expense of our people’s security and sovereignty.”