This US Navy photo obtained Oct. 28, 2016 shows the guided-missile destroyers USS Spruance (DDG 111), front, and USS Decatur (DDG 73) and the Military Sealift Command fleet oiler USNS Carl Brashear (T-AO 7) as they steam in formation in the Pacific Ocean following a joint exercise with the US Air Force 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron from Anderson Air Force Base, Guam.

PO 2nd Class Will Gaskill / US Navy Media Content Operations / AFP

MANILA, Philippines — The United States Navy is set to construct a new boat maintenance facility in Palawan that will service Philippine military watercraft, the United States Embassy in Manila said Wednesday, July 16.

The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command issued a public solicitation July 7 for the design and construction of the facility at the Naval Detachment Oyster Bay in Palawan, according to an embassy statement sent to reporters.  

Palawan is among several provinces in the Philippines that sit near the site of potential conflict in the South China Sea due to its proximity to the Spratly Islands and other disputed features. 

According to the embassy, the planned US facility will provide repair and maintenance capabilities for several small Philippine military watercraft and include two multi-purpose interior rooms for equipment storage or conference use.

The embassy said the boat maintenance facility is "not a military base."

"The project is approved by the government of the Philippines in accordance with all applicable U.S. and Philippine local rules and regulations," it added.

The embassy noted that all US military activities in the Philippines are conducted "in full coordination with our Philippine allies."

"Our U.S.-Philippine alliance with its roots in the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty remains a cornerstone of peace and security, promoting our common vision for a free, open, and resilient Indo-Pacific," the embassy said.

Relations between the Philippines and the US — the only country with which the Philippines has a mutual defense treaty — have expanded considerably under Marcos.

In July 2024, the US pledged a whopping $500 million in foreign military aid for the Philippines to boost its military. 

Before that, the Philippines granted US forces access to four more military sites under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement — a move that angered China.