The Republic Policy has reported that the United States has acquired access to four military bases in the Philippines, providing a strategic vantage point to keep an eye on China in the South China Sea and near Taiwan. With this development, the U.S. has completed its alliance arc stretching from South Korea and Japan in the north to Australia in the south, with the Philippines filling the missing link between these two regions. The Philippines borders two potential hotbeds for conflict, Taiwan and the South China Sea, making access to the country a vital part of U.S. security interests.
The deal to secure these new bases partially reverses the U.S.’ departure from the Philippines over 30 years ago. According to Gregory B. Poling, director of the Southeast Asia program at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, “there is no contingency in the South China Sea that does not require access to the Philippines.” The U.S. already had limited access to five sites under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), and with the new additions and expanded access, the U.S. will be better equipped to respond to potential disasters in the Philippines and other shared challenges, a possible reference to countering China’s influence in the region.
The new bases, which have not been publicly disclosed, are likely to be used for “light and flexible” operations involving supplies and surveillance rather than large-scale troop deployments, a departure from the 1980s when the Philippines was home to 15,000 U.S. troops and two of the largest American military bases in Asia at Clark Field and Subic Bay.
Over the past 30 years, China has emerged as a military power, building ten artificial island bases in the South China Sea, including one in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. The Philippines has been powerless to stop China’s territorial expansion, making the U.S. presence in the country crucial to Manila’s security interests. However, the U.S.’ return to the Philippines is not without opposition from the country’s left-wing groups, who have a history of opposition to U.S. military presence in the country.
Despite the opposition, the U.S. is seeking access to new locations in the Philippines, some facing the South China Sea and others facing north towards Taiwan. Unofficial reports suggest options in Cagayan, Zambales, Palawan, and Isabela. The new facilities will not be large-scale military bases, but rather locations for U.S. operations as needed.
