“Speaking at a US House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing last week, USTDA Deputy Director Thomas Hardy stated that agency-backed projects in the Philippines support US defense priorities.”
“Hardy noted that the USTDA works closely with the US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) to advance American interests in the region’s ‘frontline states’.”
“At the forefront of these initiatives is the feasibility study for the proposed Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas (SCMB) railway. The USTDA earlier awarded a $3.8 million technical assistance contract to the Virginia-based consultancy firm Cadmus Group to handle preparatory work for the project.”
“The 250-kilometer SCMB cargo railway is expected to become the logistics backbone of the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC), an economic partnership between the Philippines, the US, and Japan aimed at boosting connectivity across Luzon’s major industrial hubs.”
“In tandem with these infrastructure plans, the USTDA awarded a $1 million grant to local mining firm Eramen Minerals Inc. to assess the viability of a nickel processing facility in Zambales. The facility is projected to produce roughly 20,000 metric tons of refined nickel and cobalt annually to serve as precursor materials for battery production. As part of the LEC framework, the USTDA is also funding a new feasibility study to revive the long-delayed Sangley Point International Airport (SPIA) project, located west of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).”
https://mb.com.ph/2026/07/20/us-ties-philippine-economic-aid-to-indo-pacific-security-goals