PH-US civil nuclear cooperation talks to open doors to American nuke tech

The upcoming United State-Philippine civil nuclear cooperation talks will open the doors for the Philippines to tap American technology should the country decide to foray into nuclear power generation, a top energy official said.

Energy Undersecretary Sharon Garin said the upcoming US-Philippines civil nuclear cooperation talks will pave the way for the Philippines to access US technology should the country decide to foray into nuclear power generation. pic.twitter.com/gwW4hNKGHT

— Ted Cordero (@Ted_Cordero) November 22, 2022

In a chance interview with reporters in Makati City, Energy Undersecretary Sharon Garin said that the beginning of talks between Manila and Washington on nuclear cooperation is “a good start.”

“It will take a few months or years but at least we are paving the way so that if we want US technology, then we can have access,” she said.

Nonetheless, Garin said that the Philippines is “trying to open the doors to whichever technology we would want.”

“We are not saying which technology is better or which country is better. We are open to any technology when it comes to renewable energy or green energy or transition to any kind of energy other than coal or petroleum,” she said.

The Energy official said the Philippines needs to "comply with international bilateral agreements and one of those is the 123 Agreements," to procure nuclear material and equipment from the US.

The 123 Agreements establish a legally binding framework for peaceful nuclear cooperation such as the transfer of special nuclear material, export of nuclear fuel, reactors and equipment between the US and its partners. 

The US Embassy in Manila earlier announced that US Vice President Kamala Harris will launch discussions on the civil nuclear agreement during her visit to the Philippines. 

Once in force, the agreement will provide the legal basis for US exports of nuclear equipment and material to the Philippines, the embassy said in a fact sheet sent to the media.

"The United States is committed to working with the Philippines to increase energy security and deploying advanced nuclear reactor technology as quickly as safety and security conditions permit to meet the Philippines’ dire baseload power needs," it added.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has expressed desire to adopt nuclear energy as part of the country’s power mix as he said that the government needs to rethink its strategy on nuclear power.—LDF, GMA Integrated News