US, Philippines sign landmark nuclear deal.

On Friday, the United States and the Philippines inked a historic agreement that would allow the United States to export nuclear technology and material to Manila. The Philippines is studying the use of nuclear power as a means to decarbonize their economy and increase their level of energy independence.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made these remarks during a signing ceremony held on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in San Francisco: “The United States will be able to share equipment and material with the Philippines as they work to develop small modular reactors and other civilian nuclear energy infrastructure,” Blinken said. The ceremony was held in conjunction with the APEC Summit.

In November 2022, negotiations on the 123 Agreement were first initiated.

“We see nuclear energy becoming a part of the Philippines’ energy mix by 2032, and we are more than happy to pursue this path with the United States,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a speech. “We see nuclear energy becoming part of the energy mix in the United States by 2032.” “Nuclear energy is one area where we can show the Philippines-U.S. alliance and partnership truly works.”

The agreement, which the Congress of the United States must approve, will make it possible for the peaceful transfer of nuclear material, equipment, and information by the rules for non-proliferation.

By the end of 2022, the United States had 23 agreements that covered a total of 47 countries, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and democratically controlled Taiwan.

To achieve its climate objectives and improve its energy security, the Philippines plans to phase out its coal power plants and replace them with nuclear power plants as a viable alternative baseload power source. The nation in Southeast Asia is susceptible to the erratic behavior of oil prices on the global market, periodic power outages, and high electricity costs.

Marcos has addressed the prospect of resurrecting a mothballed nuclear power plant built in response to an energy crisis under the dictatorship of the late Philippines strongman and his namesake father. Previous attempts to develop atomic energy in the Philippines were discontinued due to safety concerns.

Following the overthrow of the elder Marcos, the catastrophic nuclear accident at Chornobyl, and claims of widespread corruption, the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was shut down just two years after it was finished being constructed in 1984.