Hanjin takeover not limited to Chinese — gov’t

MANILA, Philippines — While two Chinese shipbuilding companies are waiting in the wings for their planned takeover of the debt-ridden Hanjin Heavy Industries (HHI), the Philippine government is also talking to other interested parties to bail out the debt-ridden shipbuilding firm.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana disclosed this yesterday, saying firms from United States, Japan, some European countries, Singapore and Indonesia have also signified interest in Hanjin.

“They’re (Chinese firms) waiting in the wings,” Lorenzana told the foreign media during his initial meeting with US Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan.

He added the Philippine government is also ready to get in and operate the Korean shipbuilding company located in the former US naval base in Subic Bay in case it’s not passed on to any of the private firms.

Lorenzana is currently in Washington for a meeting with Shanahan. He is in the US where he attended the United Nations Ministerial Meeting on Peacekeeping last week in New York.

“But we are also talking to a lot of interested parties in the US, Japan, Korea, from European countries, and from Singapore and Indonesia,” Lorenzana told Washington-based media yesterday.

Chinese firms took interest over Hanjin operations in Subic but this raised concern among the country’s top security officials.

Former Navy chief Alexander Pama said ownership of the Hanjin shipyard will enable unlimited access to one of the country’s highly strategic security features.

“Let’s be aware of this Hanjin shipyard issue is not about business, financial and other economic issues. This is very significant national security issue,” Pama posted in his Facebook account.

He added that nothing can prevent the owners from making the facility into a de-facto naval base and a maritime facility for other security purposes.

Hanjin has recently declared bankruptcy after it defaulted $412 million in loans. This is on top of its $900 million debt to South Korean creditors.

“Let us all be aware and wary of the serious security and other strategic implications of this issue. I urge our patriotic business community and the government not to allow Hanjin shipyard to fall into the wrong hands,” Pama said. 

Other security officials said that allowing China’s takeover of Hanjin will give undue advantage to the Chinese vis-a-vis of its ongoing occupation and militarization in the South China Sea.

Subic is also close to Clark Air Field in Pampanga, where the Armed Forces of the Philippines is building up the country’s territorial defense.