US embassy says American military personnel wanted to assess Sanjia Steel’s premises as a potential site for next year’s Balikatan exercises
4-MIN READ4-MIN ListenRaissa RoblesPublished: 9:00am, 26 Aug 2026Philippine military officials said on Tuesday that Filipino and US personnel had tried to access a closed Chinese-linked steel plant in Mindanao as part of planning for a future naval facility and joint military exercises, extending a dispute that had already drawn protests from Beijing over Manila’s handling of Chinese workers at the site.Sanjia Steel Corporation, which leases 22.6 hectares (56 acres) inside the government-run PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental province, now sits beside land Manila considers strategically important for its military expansion in northern Mindanao.
At its regular briefing on Tuesday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines confirmed that some of its personnel, along with US soldiers, had attempted to “scope” Sanjia’s premises on August 19.
The team left after being told it lacked the written authorisation required to enter the premises, according to the US embassy and local reports citing a police blotter.
The US embassy said its military personnel had accompanied members of the Philippine armed forces and staff from the PHIVIDEC Industrial Authority, which operates the sprawling industrial zone.
The US soldiers, the embassy said, wanted to assess “its potential for use in bilateral military exercises”, but a lack of any prior written authorisation meant “the team moved on to other site visits as planned. At no point was entry insisted upon”.
