The United States, particularly its Navy, could still utilize Subic Bay without having to purchase the Hanjin shipyard, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.
Retired US Navy Capt. Brian Buzzell, who was a former political-military officer in the Philippines, wrote in the US Naval Institute’s Proceedings this month that Hanjin’s bankruptcy was a “perfect opportunity” for the US to return to its former naval base.
US Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and Philippines Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana take part in a welcome ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. on April 1, 2019. AFP PHOTO
Lorenzana, however, on Monday told reporters: “They (the US Navy) can go to Subic [anytime]. There is no need for them to buy a shipyard to do that.”
Still, there is no bar to Washington or a US firm from participating in a bidding for the facility, with Lorenzana noting interest from companies in South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Sweden and even China.
Lorenzana, however, on Monday told reporters: “They (the US Navy) can go to Subic [anytime]. There is no need for them to buy a shipyard to do that.”
Still, there is no bar to Washington or a US firm from participating in a bidding for the facility, with Lorenzana noting interest from companies in South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Sweden and even China.
What should be paramount in the sale, he added, is that the Philippines’ interests are upheld by whoever ends up running the shipyard.
Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co. Philippines (HHIC-Phil), a unit of the South Korean conglomerate, filed for bankruptcy in January after failing to pay around $412 million to five of the Philippines’ biggest banks.
The government has said that it could take over the HHIC-Phil shipyard in Subic, but control over it was effectively in the hands of creditors Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., BDO Unibank Inc., Land Bank of the Philippines, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. and Bank of the Philippine Islands.
No formal offers have been announced to date other than reported expressions of interest, the latest from International Container Terminal Services Inc. Chairman Enrique Razon, who in April said his firm was “making presentations” to the banks.
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