Trump eyes Indo-Pacific firepower surge with Philippine ammunition deal VIDEO

US President Donald Trump declared on July 22 that once a proposed ammunition hub in the Philippines is completed, the United States and the Philippines will possess “more ammunition than any country has ever had.”

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump described the planned facility in Subic as “very important” to him, emphasising the defence needs of both nations, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

“We’re gonna have all the speedy missiles, the speedy ones, the slow ones, the accurate ones, the ones that are slightly less accurate,” he said. “We are going to have more ammunition than any country ever has, and that’s very important to me.”

The proposed facility is expected to significantly bolster military readiness in the region. Trump’s comments come as the US seeks to strengthen its presence in the Indo-Pacific amid growing security tensions, particularly in the South China Sea.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. voiced strong support for the project and related defence cooperation with the United States, calling them necessary given the current regional security climate.

“What we consider part of the modernization of the Philippine military is really as a response to the circumstances that surround the situation around the South China Sea,” Marcos Jr. said.

He further described the cooperation as a component of Manila’s self-reliance strategy: “This is actually the United States assisting the Philippines in what we call our self-reliance defense program, which allows us to be self-reliant, to be able to stand on our own two feet whatever the circumstances that occur in the future.”

“The reason that we have encouraged more interaction in the United States is because it is necessary,” he added.

Under Marcos Jr., the Philippines has granted the US military access to additional bases in the country, deepening ties with its only traditional ally. This comes as China continues to assert sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea, despite a 2016 arbitral ruling that rejected Beijing’s expansive “nine-dash line” claim.

In support of the proposed facility, the US House Committee on Appropriations earlier directed the Department of Defence to examine the feasibility of establishing a joint ammunition manufacturing and storage hub in Subic. The directive cited the need to address a “lack of forward stage ammunition manufacturing facility in the Indo-Pacific.”

Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez confirmed that discussions on the ammunition hub have begun between Filipino and US officials, although no formal project proposal has yet been submitted by Washington.

Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro has also welcomed the proposed development, highlighting its potential to create jobs and enhance the country’s defence infrastructure.

By Tamilla Hasanova