Why Philippine, US forces tried to ‘scope’ a Chinese-linked steel plant in Mindanao

Philippine and US military personnel attempted to visit a closed Chinese-linked steel plant in Mindanao, known as Sanjia Steel Corporation, on August 19. The visit was part of planning for a future naval facility and joint military exercises, which has drawn protests from Beijing over Manila's handling of Chinese workers at the site.

Sanjia Steel Corporation leases 22.6 hectares of land inside the government-run PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental province. The area is considered strategically important for military expansion in northern Mindanao. The Philippine Armed Forces confirmed some personnel and US soldiers had attempted to "scope" Sanjia's premises but left after being told they lacked the required authorisation.

The US embassy stated that the team aimed to assess the plant's potential for use in bilateral military exercises, but lacked prior written authorisation. The Philippine team's objective was to evaluate the area's proximity to a future naval base and critical government infrastructure, including Lumbia Airport, which is part of the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

The planned naval facility would be built inside the 7,400-acre PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate and is projected to be an EDCA site. Sanjia Steel Corporation, established in 2018, previously operated a wharf along Macajalar Bay and had a declared production capacity of 600,000 metric tonnes of steel. However, the Environmental Management Bureau ordered the plant to close in June due to the detection of radioactive elements in imported scrap metal.