US to build Philippine boat repair hubs near South China Sea
The move comes amid ongoing territorial tensions between Manila and Beijing over the strategic waterway.
One facility will be located in Quezon municipality, Palawan province, as listed on the US government's contracting platform Sam.gov.
The project aims to service Philippine vessels, including 7.32-meter rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) frequently involved in maritime standoffs with Chinese ships.
A second facility will be built at Oyster Bay naval base, 130 kilometres north.
The Philippines maintains a small military presence aboard a grounded ship at Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands, where frequent confrontations with Chinese coast guard vessels occur.
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling rejecting its historical claims.
Retired Philippine admiral Rommel Jude Ong noted the facilities could support resupply missions to remote outposts.
The US-Philippines defence partnership has strengthened under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has taken a firmer stance against Beijing's maritime expansion. – AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
an hour ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Wall Street futures edge up as optimism over economy offsets Netflix's fall
The S&P 500 and the Dow are on track for only modest advances this week, as investors navigate a swirl of mixed signals. (AP pic) NEW YORK : US stock index futures inched higher today, buoyed by signs of a resilient US economy, even as Netflix's market-beating quarterly profit failed to dazzle investors. At 5.30am, S&P 500 E-minis were up 8.75 points, or 0.14%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 33 points, or 0.14%, and Dow E-minis were up 66 points, or 0.15%. Wall Street's winning streak continued overnight, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notching fresh record closes after upbeat data on retail sales and jobless claims signaled a healthy US economy. The data gives the Federal Reserve (Fed) some breathing room to assess the inflationary effects of US tariffs. Netflix rode the success of 'Squid Game' to top earnings estimates and boost its revenue outlook for the year. Yet, the streaming giant's shares slipped 1.5% in premarket trading. It has risen 43% this year. All eyes remain on whether President Donald Trump's tariff measures are starting to ripple through the economy. The Fed has signaled it will stay the course on interest rates until it sees clearer signs of how higher import taxes are shaping inflation. Traders now put the odds of a rate cut in September at about 56.3%, with a July move nearly off the table, according to CME's FedWatch tool. 'This week's data supports the wait-and-see camp on the Fed. 'Tariffs are percolating to consumer prices but is not withholding households from opening their wallets,' said Kenneth Broux, head of corporate research and rates, at Societe Generale. Fed governor Christopher Waller signaled yesterday that mounting economic risks and tame inflation have him backing an interest rate cut by this month's end, downplaying concerns that tariffs will fuel lasting price hikes. As the second-quarter earnings season gets underway, early results from 36 S&P 500 companies that reported, more than 80% have topped Wall Street's earnings expectations, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data. The S&P 500 and the Dow are on track for only modest advances this week, as investors navigate a swirl of mixed signals – robust retail sales, a spike in consumer inflation, and a stall in producer prices for June. Cryptocurrency stocks rose after the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would develop a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. Robinhood Markets and Coinbase Global gained 1.9% each, while Bitfarms rose 2.8% and Hut 8 advanced 1.3%.
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Indonesia court jails former trade minister for four-and-a-half years in sugar graft case
Former trade minister Thomas Lembong was found guilty of improperly granting sugar import permits. -- PHOTO: REUTERS JAKARTA (Reuters): An Indonesian court on Friday sentenced a former trade minister to 4.5 years in jail for improperly granting sugar import permits that authorities said had caused nearly 600 billion rupiah (US$36.84 million) in state losses. Thomas Trikasih Lembong served as trade minister in 2015 and 2016 under President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. Once seen as Jokowi's close aide, Lembong turned into one of the government's staunchest critics after leaving office. Judges at the corruption court in the capital Jakarta, said Lembong, as minister, was guilty of improperly granting import permits for sugar to private companies when the Southeast Asian country had a surplus of sugar. Indonesia's sugar output in 2015 was 2.49 million metric tons, while consumption was 2.12 million. In last year's presidential election, Lembong was the campaign manager for candidate Anies Baswedan. The election was won in a landslide by Prabowo Subianto, whom Jokowi backed. Lembong, who was arrested days after Prabowo's inauguration last year, had claimed in court that his prosecution was due to his involvement in the opposition camp, local media reported. Prosecutors had denied that his arrest was politically motivated. "The defendant was proven legally and convincingly to be guilty of having committed a corruption act," Judge Purwanto S. Abdullah said, to jeers from the crowd. Before handing down the sentence, the judges had argued that the import permits did not go through the proper procedures of consulting with other state bodies and that he had prioritised "capitalistic" interests over social justice. However, the judges said he did not enrich himself, leading to a shorter sentence than the seven years prosecutors had demanded. Prosecutors said Lembong had enriched the private companies. Holding up his handcuffed hands, Lembong told reporters after the sentencing that he would consider whether or not to appeal, saying judges had ignored his defence team. His lawyer Ari Yusuf Amir did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Friday. ($1 = 16,285.0000 rupiah) (Reporting by Ananda Teresia and Stanley Widianto; Editing by Sharon Singleton) - Reuters
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
On Australian PM's visit to China, the two nations ‘hold back' on disputes
Beijing has set aside major disputes with Canberra and instead filled Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's six-day visit to China this week with a slew of trade and investment deals, a move analysts said was an effort to find common ground amid trade tensions with the United States. The deals include the potential widening of access to the Chinese market for Australian farm produce and coal, cooperation in the digitalisation of the financial sector, investment in greenfield projects and potential tariff cuts for Australian agricultural exports, according to a source with knowledge of their content. Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Full access to Web and App. RM 13.90/month RM 9.73 /month Billed as RM 9.73 for the 1st month, RM 13.90 thereafter. RM 12.39/month RM 8.63 /month Billed as RM 103.60 for the 1st year, RM 148 thereafter.
