US eyes a Philippine ammo facility as opposition warns of ‘warmongering’

Washington and its allies are drawing up plans to establish an ammunition production facility in the Philippines, a move critics warn would turn the Southeast Asian nation into a logistics arm of US “warmongering”. The proposal emerged last week from the Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR), a US-led initiative founded in 2024 to reduce supply chain vulnerabilities and help allies produce and sustain military equipment closer to potential flashpoints. Members agreed to launch a Japan-led programme to manufacture solid rocket motors and to advance regional cooperation on small military drones, including common standards and shared supply chains, the Pentagon said in a statement on Wednesday. Separately, they agreed to explore establishing a facility in the Philippines to assemble and package 30mm-by-173mm ammunition: a workhorse calibre used across the maritime and coastal defence platforms Manila’s military increasingly depends on. “The timing is significant,” said Sylwia Monika Gorska, a political analyst at Britain’s University of Central Lancashire whose research spans international relations and East Asian geopolitics. Recent US military operations in the Middle East have pushed daily ammunition costs to between US$1 billion and US$2 billion, forcing the Pentagon to ask Congress for US$200 billion in supplemental funds to sustain its arsenal. That scale of the munitions drawdown is forcing US military planners to think differently about where production sits and how quickly it can be replenished, according to analysts. “What this points to is a distributed model of production and sustainment, instead of concentrating production in a few locations,” Gorska said. “The system is being built so that different partners handle different parts of the supply and sustainment chain.” ‘Litmus test’ The recent discussions build on a proposal floated by Washington last year to open an ammunition production and storage facility at Subic Bay in Zambales – once home to the largest American overseas naval base until its closure in 1991 – to plug logistical gaps across the region. Analysts stress that the plan is not about transforming the Philippines into a major arms manufacturer. But Manila’s modest role still carries its own risks. Gorska warned that the Philippines would have little control over technology, output or priorities as demand escalated. She pointed to South Korea as a cautionary example: US systems including the Patriot and THAAD were redeployed to support Middle East operations despite Seoul’s objections, showing the limited leverage Washington’s allies have over assets based on their own soil. Having forfeited its industrial primacy to China, the US has had to increasingly rely on alliances to maintain its regional posture, according to Sasha Chhabra, a Taipei-based security analyst. “Although the US is increasingly viewed as an unreliable partner, industrial cooperation that enhances US and allied defensive capabilities is a key way for Asian allies to demonstrate their importance to Washington,” he said. For the Philippines, a domestic ammunition production line, even one handling packaging and assembly rather than advanced manufacturing, would help to address an operational vulnerability. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr told his US counterpart Donald Trump last July that the project would support Manila’s “self-reliant defence programme” and help the country “stand on our own two feet”. Trump, for his part, said he hoped both sides would amass “more ammunition than any country has ever had”. “This is a litmus test for the endurance of US superiority in the region,” said Chester Cabalza, founder of the Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation think tank. “It needs the Philippines given its young demography and economic resiliency as other Asean countries hedge to survive the US hegemonic rivalry with China.” Opposition pushback In the Philippine House of Representatives, not everyone has been persuaded by claims that the move would boost self-reliant defence. The Makabayan Bloc, a left-wing coalition in the House, has come out firmly against the facility, arguing it serves “US strategic needs” rather than Philippine ones. “At a time when US war operations are devastating the Middle East and widening instability, the Philippines must not be turned into a logistical extension of US warmongering,” the bloc said in a statement. The Philippines must not be turned into a logistical extension of US warmongering Makabayan Bloc statement “We reject the attempt to normalise arms manufacturing as an acceptable economic programme. Weapons production is not a neutral industry: it is built on profiteering from conflict and it funnels public policy towards militarisation.” Gorska acknowledged the political sensitivity but argued the case for participation remained strong, particularly given Manila’s existing alliance commitments. With PIPIR discussions still exploratory and no facility yet confirmed, the debate is only just beginning.

US eyes a Philippine ammo facility as opposition warns of ‘warmongering’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Philippines has long been the closest US ally in Asia. Now Washington wants something more: a place to make bullets and shells

The Philippines has long been the closest US ally in Asia. Now Washington wants something more: a place to make bullets and shells