US-Philippines ties enter ‘more mature’ phase with planned fuel depot

The United States is planning a fuel depot in southern Philippines to support humanitarian and maritime security missions for its long-time ally in Asia, as part of a growing network of forward-based refuelling hubs in the Western Pacific.Located far from the flashpoint reefs at the centre of Manila’s maritime dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea, the depot marks what one observer called a “more mature and more serious stage” in the US-Philippine alliance: a shift from base access and drills towards the grinding business of keeping forces fuelled, dispersed and in the field for the long haul.The US Defence Logistics Agency published a solicitation on March 31, inviting US-based contractors to bid for a Defence Fuel Support Point along the western coast of the Davao Gulf, including Davao City, Davao del Sur and Malalag Bay.According to a 15-page contract brief, the facility would hold about 977,000 barrels of US government-owned fuel for warships and aircraft over a four-year period, split between naval distillate F-76, used by surface vessels, and JP-5, a high-flashpoint jet fuel designed for use aboard aircraft carriers.Bids will be accepted until June 29 and the project is slated for completion by 2028.The Davao site will join a chain of forward refuelling hubs the US is building across the Western Pacific, alongside planned facilities in Darwin, Australia and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.