Washington: In a seeming bid to counter increasingly aggressive Chinese activities in the South China Sea, the US plans to finance and construct a fast boat facility on the western coast of Palawan in the Philippines.
The facility will be built to launch at least five fast boats, which will be constructed by US -based company ReconCraft. The manufacturer specialises in producing vessels used by law enforcement and the military for rapid interdiction.
According to documents, the vessels will include both “assault boats” and rigid-hulled inflatable boats, USNI News has reported.
The facility, which will also include on-site storage and conference rooms, will provide the Armed Forces of the Philippines with an effective launch point for patrols into the South China Sea.
Chinese and Philippine vessels have clashed in increasingly hostile interactions in the region, especially as China has used aggressive tactics to assert its claims over a variety of uninhabitable reefs and shoals.
Although these standoffs and accusations of Chinese “bullying” have been occurring for years, the incidents seem to be escalating in recent times.
A month ago, China’s Coast Guard was recorded on video deploying a water cannon against a Philippine fishing boat near a sandbar. Earlier this month, China announced that it was deploying a military combat patrol near the Scarborough Shoal, a disputed area with the Philippines.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to visit the Philippines, the first stop in his first trip to the Indo-Pacific next week.
The Pentagon is bolstering its support for allies in the Indo-Pacific region.
In May, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth released a joint statement with the Defence Ministers of Japan, Australian and the Philippines, condemning “China’s destabilising actions in the East China Sea (ECS) and the South China Sea (SCS) and any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.”
The four leaders added they were opposed to “dangerous conduct by China in the SCS against the Philippines,” and they noted in the statement they would be collectively increasing defence, cooperation and joint interoperability of military forces.
The new fast boat facility is slated to be operational in the first quarter of fiscal 2026.
