US Embassy: Fuel transfer done via ‘proper channels, contracts’
US Embassy in Manila. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — The United States Embassy on Thursday confirmed the controversial transfer of fuel from Pearl Harbor to Subic but explained that it was made through “proper channels, using established contracts.”
In a statement, US Embassy Spokesperson Kanishka Gangopadhyay said the transfer is one of the multiple shipments of safe and clean fuel from the US military facility in Pearl Harbor to another location.
“We can confirm that the Yosemite Trader, a commercial tanker, is currently in the vicinity of Subic Bay, Philippines in order to transfer clean fuel from the US military facility at Red Hill, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to a commercial storage facility at Subic Bay. This is one of multiple shipments of safe, clean fuel from the Red Hill facility to other locations in the Pacific,” said Gangopadhyay.
The statement was issued after Senator Imee Marcos questioned the shipment, demanding an explanation from the Department of National Defense and Armed Forces of the Philippines.
According to Marcos, at least 39 million gallons of fuel were shipped. The senator likewise lamented what she dubbed as the “inexplicable silence” of both the Philippines and US governments on the matter.
She particularly noted that this move only triggers suspicions about the “pre-positioning of military supplies in the country amid predictions of an eventual war between China and the US over Taiwan.”
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Gangopadhyay, however, maintained that the fuel transfer was only one of many regular shipments of fuel to the Philippines.
“All arrangements for the transfer and storage of this fuel were made through the proper channels, using established logistics contracts with Philippine commercial entities,” Gangopadhyay emphasized.
