President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. downplayed concerns over a possible negative reaction from China regarding the United States’ proposed ammunition hub in Subic.

“There’s been much comment saying that these infrastructures, military infrastructures, and the programs that we are initiating will make us a target for China,” Marcos told reporters in a separate briefing after his bilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Are we not already a target for China? So, I think that what we have to be thinking about is protecting the Philippines,” he added.

In an earlier press briefing, Trump said he expects the Philippines and the U.S. to have “more ammunition than any country has ever had” once the facility is completed.

“it’s very important. We need ammunition. We're going to end up in a few months, we'll have more ammunition than any country has ever had. We're going to have more missiles than any country has ever had. We're going to have all the speedy missiles,” he said.

“We'll have the speedy ones, the slow ones, the accurate ones, the ones that are slightly less accurate. We have everything. But we will have more ammunition than any country has ever had. It’s very important to make,” he added.

Marcos also defended his government’s pivot to the U.S. amid China’s opposition to its continuous military cooperation with “forces outside the region.”

“[A]bout the ammunition production, this is actually the United States is assisting the Philippines in what we call our Self-Reliance Defense Program (SRDP), which is to allow us to be self-reliant and to be able to stand on our own two feet whatever the circumstances that occur in the future,” he said.

“And that – and the reason that we have all – we have encouraged more interaction with the United States is because it is, again, it is necessary. And it is not just with the United States, it is with all our neighboring countries, and even countries as far afield as the Scandinavian countries, the EU. And this is an ongoing process,” he added.

“And again, I will stress the point that we do this because we feel it is necessary.”

Beijing has been vocal in its opposition to Manila’s defense cooperation with the U.S., accusing Washington of hegemony in the Indo-Pacific region. Its latest pronouncement includes the withdrawal of the U.S.-owned missile system from the South China Sea.

Marcos stressed that the proposed U.S. ammunition hub in Subic was not discussed during his bilateral meeting with Trump, adding that it “had been decided a long time ago.”

“I don’t think anything was on that subject. We didn’t do any work on that. That had been decided a long time ago,” he said. “Not naman a year ago, but almost a year ago. We already had decided.”

According to the president, the facility forms part of the Philippines’ Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) program, with the U.S. providing support by inviting local manufacturers to invest in the proposed hub.

To recall, Marcos signed the SRDP Revitalization Act last year in a bid to bolster the country’s defense capabilities.

FDI model

Meanwhile, Teodoro said the proposed facility would be established under a foreign direct investment (FDI) model, despite being approved by the U.S. Congress.

“I believe the original concept, although it is funded by the US Congress, it will be FDI. So, it's a foreign direct investment concept,” he said.

“We can envision a private entity going about it on a commercial basis, so that they can hire people on a commercial basis,” he added.

Teodoro said the planned ammunition hub will not only generate jobs for Filipinos but also revenue for Subic.

“It will increase our trade flows. So, that is an example of US government-sponsored foreign direct investment to help our people and our self-reliance, too,” he said.

“So, that will also cater to commonality of production of munitions, which is at a worldwide shortage at this time, of all calibers, whether direct fire or indirect fire,” he added.