MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines can build its own
shipbuilding industry to guarantee the military will have the ability to secure
the country and its territorial waters from piracy, terrorism and encroachment,
Sen. Richard Gordon said.
Gordon noted some global giants in shipbuilding – like
Hanjin Heavy Industries in Subic, Zambales – have set up tremendous shipyards
in different parts of the country in acknowledgment of Filipinos' abilities.
“We are an archipelagic country; we should be able to build
ships. We should have ships made in the Philippines – in Cebu, in Hanjin in
Subic,” the senator said in a statement.
“We should really make an effort to strengthen our military,
because we are facing both internal and external threats. At the same time, we
should consistently assert our national territory, which includes Scarborough
Shoal and Benham Rise, in no uncertain terms,” he said.
He said the current launching by Hanjin of the first-ever
Subic-made 20,600-TEU (twenty-foot equal unit) class compartment vessel shows
that Filipinos have the ability to assemble ships.
