Opinion | Why China’s eyeing of bankrupt Philippine shipyard sets off alarms in maritime Southeast Asia
- Richard Heydarian writes that China’s interest in giant Subic Bay shipyard, a former US naval base, triggers anxiety over Beijing’s growing influence
- At its peak, the world’s fifth largest shipyard had employed as many as 10,000 Filipinos
Since Rodrigo Duterte’s ascent to presidency, Philippine-China relations have undergone a strategic renaissance.
The Philippine president has assiduously downplayed South China Sea disputes in favour of warmer economic ties with China, an Asian juggernaut. Meanwhile, he has consciously downgraded the Philippines’ strategic ties with Western powers.
The prospective entry of state-affiliated Chinese companies into Philippine strategic sectors and locations, however, has sparked a backlash among the defence establishment, mainstream political elite and the broader public.
The most prominent manifestation of this trend is the nationwide uproar over China’s potential purchase of a large-scale shipyard in Subic Bay, the former site of the largest US overseas naval base.
Two Chinese companies have expressed interest in taking over the operation of the 300-hectare (741-acre) shipyard now run by the troubled Philippine subsidiary of South Korean shipbuilding giant Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction.
Hanjin’s Philippine unit declared bankruptcy early this year after failing to service up to US$1.3 billion in accumulated debt. It sought the Philippine government’s help in finding new investors to protect the jobs of the 3,000 employees who still work at the site, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about 100km northwest of Manila Bay.