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President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. meets with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 22, 2025. Presidential Communications Office

Article (news)

Katrina Domingo

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1753233554880P-DSC02639.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. meets with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 22, 2025. Presidential Communications Office </span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>WASHINGTON — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. brushed off concerns that China might retaliate against the Philippines once it builds a US ammunition hub in Subic, saying that the Southeast Asian country had long been a target of Asia’s largest military.</p><p>“There’s been much comment that these military infrastructures and programs we are initiating will make us a target of China,” Marcos Jr. told reporters in the Blair House.</p><p>“Are we not already a target for China? So what we are thinking about is protecting the Philippines,” he said.</p><p>Renewed concern over China’s retaliatory measures against the Philippines cropped up after Marcos Jr. confirmed that a US-funded ammunition hub would be constructed in Subic.</p><p>The Philippines welcomes the proposed US ammunition hub in Subic and other defense and security deals with the US “because we feel this is necesary,” Marcos said during his meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.</p><p>“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,” he said.</p><p>“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,” he said.</p><p>“The reason that we have encouraged more interaction in the United States is because it is necessary,” he said.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/22/trump-says-he-does-not-mind-if-ph-gets-along-with-china-0611">Trump says he ‘does not mind if PH gets along with China’</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>SUBIC HUB TO ADDRESS ‘WORLDWIDE SHORTAGE OF MUNITIONS’</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The planned ammunition hub in Subic is expected to cater to a “worldwide shortage” of munitions, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said, noting the lack of supply “of all calibers, whether direct fire or indirect fire.”</p><p>“As we go on, we will review the business proposal because it is on a business case basis, being foreign direct investment. And then after we finalize the details, we will have more to report,” he said.</p><p>The ammunition hub will initially employ between 200 and 300 people, Teodoro said.</p><p>“We can envision a private entity going about it on a commercial basis so that they can hire people on a commercial basis,” he said.</p><p>“Depending on the scale, initially about 200 to 300 people, highly technical people, but then there are downstream industries so of course, they will have to build access to port facilities. It will regenerate revenue on a commercial basis, it will increase our trade flows,” he added.</p><p>“That is an example of a US government sponsored [project] that will help our people and self-reliance, too.”</p><p>Trump earlier said that the proposed facility would<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/22/trump-ph-us-to-have-more-ammunition-than-any-country-with-proposed-subic-hub-0121"> give the Philippines and the United States “more ammunition than any country has ever had.”</a></p><p>“We’re gonna have all the speedy missiles, the speedy ones, the slow ones, the accurate ones, the ones that are slightly less accurate,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.</p><p>“We are going to have more ammunition than any country ever has and that’s very important to me,” he said.</p><p>The ammunition hub is expected to be constructed in Subic, a former US military base which is also part of the Luzon Economic Corridor, another Washington-funded development.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/21/marcos-jr-rubio-seek-ways-to-strengthen-supply-chains-via-luzon-corridor-0624">Marcos Jr., Rubio seek ways to ‘strengthen supply chains’ via Luzon Corridor</a></div><p>The Luzon Corridor’s flagship project is a 250-kilometer freight line cutting across Subic, Clark, Manila and Batangas, four areas which host strategic ports and military air bases.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/20/marcos-jr-to-meet-with-semiconductor-players-in-washington-envoy-0120">Marcos Jr. to meet with semiconductor players, Luzon Corridor investors in Washington: envoy</a></div><p>While the US has yet to officially submit a project proposal for the ammunition hub, the Luzon Corridor’s design target has been set for 2026 while its construction is expected to begin in 2027.</p><div><iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i15eqRTddRc" title="LIVE: Pres. Marcos Jr. meets with U.S. Pres. Donald Trump via The White House | July 22, 2025" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. brushed off concerns that China might retaliate against the Philippines once it builds a US ammunition hub in Subic, saying that the Southeast Asian country had long been a target of Asia’s largest military.</p>

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. brushed off concerns that China might retaliate against the Philippines once it builds a US ammunition hub in Subic, saying that the Southeast Asian country had long been a target of Asia’s largest military.

‘Are we not already a target for China?’: Marcos allays worries over planned Subic ammunition hub

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‘Are we not already a target for China?’: Marcos allays worries over planned Subic ammunition hub

Katrina Domingo

Published Jul 23, 2025 09:24 AM PHT

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