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The Pentagon has awarded a $975,000 design-build contract to Ace Builders, Inc. for a small boat maintenance facility at Naval Detachment Oyster Bay, Palawan
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The facility will enhance the Philippine Navy’s sustainment capacity for small boats and unmanned surface vessels
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The US Embassy in Manila stressed the facility is not a US base and was approved by the Philippine government
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Facility will include repair, maintenance, storage, and multipurpose rooms for Philippine Navy vessels
The Pentagon has awarded a $975,000 design-build contract to Ace Builders, Inc. for a boat maintenance facility at the Naval Detachment Oyster Bay, Palawan.
Ace Builders, Inc., a New Mexico-based contractor, secured the deal to design and build a small boat maintenance facility at the Philippine military logistics hub. The project will support Philippine Navy small boats and unmanned surface vessels tasked to patrol contested waters, US Naval Institute’s USNI News reported.
The Oyster Bay facility is a critical launch point for Philippine Marine Corps fast boats and American-provided Cyclone-class patrol craft. Washington has also supplied Manila with five Maritime Tactical Systems drones for maritime domain awareness, training Philippine operators in Palawan.
The contract marks another installment in Washington’s expanding military infrastructure investments across the Philippines, aimed at reinforcing Manila’s strategic posture amid rising tensions in the South China Sea. US defense support accelerated in 2023 following repeated confrontations near Second Thomas Shoal, where the BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57)—a grounded World War II-era landing ship manned by Philippine Marines – has become a flashpoint in maritime disputes with China.
The Oyster Bay upgrade is part of a series of American-funded projects to reinforce Manila’s maritime defense posture. US funding also covers facilities in Quezon, Palawan, bringing the Philippine small boat units closer to Second Thomas and Sabina Shoals.
In a separate announcement in July this year, the US Embassy in Manila confirmed the facility will boost the Philippine military’s repair and maintenance capacity. Acting spokesperson Glenda Wallace stressed the project “is not a military base” but a support hub cleared by the Philippine government.
“The project is approved by the government of the Philippines in accordance with all applicable US and Philippine local rules and regulations,” Wallace said. She added that the site will include repair and maintenance areas for small watercraft, along with multi-purpose interior rooms for equipment storage or conferences.
Wallace emphasized that US military activities in the country are carried out “in full coordination with our Philippine allies.”
“Our US-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,” she highlighted.
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