MANILA, Philippines — The US Congress has directed the State Department and the Pentagon to authorize the production of ammunition in the Philippines in partnership with local manufacturers.
This was according to Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez, who said the meeting between President Marcos and US President Donald Trump today will not only reaffirm the strong ties between the two countries but also pave the way for a “combination both of defense and economic cooperation.”
“I think that the first step that was taken was that the US Congress has approved the production of ammunition in the Philippines. Obviously, we’re open to that one because it’s a good way of being able to have a combination of both defense and economic cooperation between the Philippines and the United States,” Romualdez told reporters in Washington on Sunday ahead of the two leaders’ meeting at the White House.
The US Congress said the State Department and the defense department should study the “feasibility of establishing a joint ammunition and manufacturing storage facility” at the former US naval base in Subic Bay, citing the “lack of forward stage ammunition manufacturing facility in the Indo-Pacific.”
“Setting up a production facility in the Philippines would obviously be beneficial for us economically also because it will create jobs and it will obviously be a good hub for them to be able to produce what is required for our defense,” Romualdez said.
“These are talks that we’re pursuing together with our economic team on how we can continue to have this type of cooperation, especially with the US Defense Department,” he said. But he clarified there are no formal talks yet.
The ambassador said the Philippines is studying the new provisions in the US National Defense Act.
“We’re waiting for that, but we’re preparing for it. We have a number of companies in the Philippines that are interested in joining that potential consortium, basically, into this production facility,” he said.
However, Romualdez said Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. has made it clear that the Philippines’ priority is more on the defense side, particularly the procurement of multi-role fighter jets. Romualdez said fighter aircraft are very expensive.
He said Marcos also wants to strengthen defense cooperation with the US, a major ally, and with other like-minded countries in ensuring freedom of navigation in the West Philippine Sea amid China’s continued aggression at sea.
Romualdez noted the two countries have several security agreements, including the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement and the Visiting Forces Agreement as well as cooperation on the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“It’s really the reaffirmation of all of these agreements that we have with the United States on our mutual defense, specifically surrounding the Mutual Defense Treaty. So it’ll be more on discussions on how we can continue to cooperate with the United States, our major ally,” he said.
Trade deal
Aside from security cooperation, Romualdez also said Manila is hoping to forge a mutually agreeable free trade deal with Washington.
“What would be good for both our countries? We have to look at relationships now in a different light. I think what’s important is what is going to be good for us is what we’re going to negotiate on,” Romualdez said at a briefing yesterday.
“We cannot just consider what we can get from another country. We need what is right for both countries. But the most important is what is good for us. That’s part of the whole equation on why we’re embarking on these trips that the President takes,” he added.
According to Romualdez, the Philippines understands the dynamics of the discussions, noting that Trump has made it clear that his administration is in the process of imposing tariffs that he feels is going to be fair to the US. He expressed hope that the outcome of the ongoing negotiations on the tariff policy would be positive.
“We have to get over this particular discussion first on the tariff. After that, we’re hoping that the free trade agreement will probably come into play,” the envoy said.
Romualdez said there were previous conversations regarding a free trade agreement and the Philippines was heading for that direction.
“But that changed obviously with the new administration,” the ambassador said.
“But now we’re bringing that back into play and hopefully we’ll be able to come up with something that will be mutually agreeable for both the United States and the Philippines on the free trade agreement,” he added.
Earlier this month, Trump informed Marcos that a 20 percent tariff would be levied on Philippine exports to the US starting Aug. 1 to address what he called a “trade disparity” that poses a threat to the US economy.
Pinoy deportations not on agenda
Meanwhile, Romualdez acknowledged that during Marcos’ official three-day US visit, there would not be much room for discussion as far as the deportation of Filipinos illegally staying in the US is concerned.
He said there had been talks earlier on Trump’s immigration policy, which is expected to affect “a little less” than 100,000 Filipino immigrants.
“I think we probably will not need to, because we’ve had discussions already,” the ambassador said.
“I’ve had meetings with the Department of Homeland Security on how we can cooperate with the United States on how to handle illegal immigration. As I’ve always said, those that have a legal path should have already contacted immigration lawyers. We have volunteer Filipino-American lawyers associations that have come forward to help our Filipino countrymen,” he added.
He said the laws of the US must be respected, in the same way foreigners who come to the Philippines are expected to respect the country’s laws.
“The bottom line is there is really not much room for discussion, but to simply work in such a way that all Filipinos that are up for deportation will be deported to the Philippines and not to a third country,” Romualdez said.
“I think it has already been agreed upon, that any kind of deportation will be, as long as they’re Filipino citizens, we will make sure that they are deported to the Philippines,” he added.
The White House has said the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has arrested over 100,000 “illegal alien criminals.”