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Philippine and US forces attempted to inspect Chinese-linked steel plant
Officials said the August 19 visit ended after personnel were told they lacked written authorization to enter the Sanjia Steel premises in Misamis Oriental.
Philippine military officials said Filipino personnel and US soldiers attempted to access a closed Chinese-linked steel plant in Mindanao as part of planning tied to a future naval facility and upcoming joint military exercises, extending an existing dispute that has drawn protests from Beijing. The plant, Sanjia Steel Corporation, is adjacent to land Manila considers strategically important for its military expansion in northern Mindanao, according to SCMP Economy.
At the Armed Forces of the Philippines regular briefing on Tuesday, the military confirmed that some of its personnel, along with US soldiers, tried to “scope” Sanjia’s premises on August 19. The team departed after being told it did not have the written authorization required to enter the property, based on statements relayed through the US embassy and local reporting citing a police blotter.
The US embassy said its military personnel accompanied members of the Philippine armed forces and staff from the PHIVIDEC Industrial Authority, which operates the industrial zone where Sanjia Steel leases land. The embassy said the US team wanted to assess the site’s potential use in bilateral military exercises, and added that because of missing prior written authorization, the group moved on to other planned visits, with no insistence on entry, SCMP Economy reported.