The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines on Sunday clarified that the presence of U.S. military personnel at Sanjia Steel Corp. in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, was part of “routine planning efforts” for the 2027 Balikatan exercises and not an inspection of the facility.
In a statement, the embassy said a team of U.S. military personnel and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel visited the Sanjia facility in coordination with the PHIVIDEC Industrial Authority to assess its potential use for the bilateral military exercises.
“As part of joint U.S.-Philippines planning for Balikatan 2027, a team of U.S. military and Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel arrived at the Sanjia facility in coordination with the PHIVIDEC Industrial Authority to assess its potential for use as part of bilateral military exercises,“ the embassy statement read.
“The site visit was part of routine planning efforts. When notified of facility access requirements, the team moved to other site visits as planned. At no point was entry insisted upon,” it added.
The annual Balikatan exercises are joint military drills conducted by Philippine and U.S. forces to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation and interoperability.
“We take this opportunity to reaffirm our steadfast commitment to the ironclad Alliance between the United States and the Philippines,“ the embassy said.
The clarification came after the Chinese Embassy in Manila questioned reports that U.S. military personnel had visited the steel plant and allegedly attempted to “inspect” the facility.
Chinese Embassy Deputy Spokesperson Guo Wei also questioned the purpose of the visit and raised the possibility that it could be linked to an alleged U.S. plan to establish a military fuel hub, while expressing concerns over what China described as the targeting of Chinese nationals.
