U.S., Philippines agree on five base locations under defense deal

Business Insider ^ | March 18, 2016 | David Brunnstrom

[JPX2011]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and the Philippines have agreed on five locations for U.S. military facilities in the Philippines under a security deal agreed amid rising tensions with China, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Amy Searight said the deal was reached under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) signed last year that grants Washington increased military presence in its former colony through rotation of ships and planes for humanitarian and maritime security operations.

Searight told the opening of the annual U.S.-Philippines Bilateral Strategic Dialogue in Washington that Manila was a “critical U.S. ally” and ties had never been stronger.

She did not detail the locations but said U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter would visit the Philippines in April to discuss implementation of the agreement.

[knarf]

pingski

[knarf]

Duterte (DU30) is another EXTREMELY popular replica of our Trump .... cut the Philippines some slack

These are different times and the globe is in birthing pangs ... deal with it.

[knarf]

My #22

[major_gaff]

Guess I have to re-up now, so I can get back to Cubi Point.

[Seattle Conservative]

WVK - you might be interested in this

[bert]

isn’t Cubi Point the Fed EX Asia hub?

(The House where I lived at subic can be viewed on Google Earth)

[Alas Babylon!]

They could probably get Chinese construction companies for the cheapest rate.

And they’re already in the area, building islands out of submerged coral reefs, so transportation costs will be lower.

/s

[WVKayaker]

U know about the deal, but I am far away from where they will locate. Imagine driving from Miami to Massachusetts!

[PIF]

“The locations are: Antonio Bautista Air Base; Basa Air Base, Fort Magsaysay; Lumbia Air Base; and Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base.

“Fort Magsaysay, one of the five agreed first locations, has already been a key site for the annual U.S.-Philippine military exercise known as the Balikatan Exercises which begins next month (“US, Philippines to Hold Expanded War Games”).

“Antonio Bautista Air Base is located on Palawan near the South China Sea ...

“Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base, is located on Mactan Island in Cebu, the center for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts ...”

[Koracan]

U.S., Philippines agree on five base locations under defense deal

I wonder where most of the money is coming from (US military pork barrel spending)?

poorest countries, world
1. Congo....... $400
........
57. Nicaragua....$4,500
58. Philippines..$4,700

Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA)
...agreed on the first five locations to begin implementing EDCA. The locations are: Antonio Bautista Air Base; Basa Air Base, Fort Magsaysay; Lumbia Air Base; and Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base.
..... According to Reuters, Major-General Raul de Rosario, military chief of plans, unveiled 2013 that 998 billion pesos ($22.11 billion) has been approved by the government until 2028...
... it is important to put them in broader perspective because it can otherwise mislead some.... it seeks to increase the Philippine military’s ability to counter not only internal threats, but a range of external threats in a more decisive manner. Like other nations, this includes – but is not limited to – China.

[MasterGunner01]

Well, it was the Philippine Senate that killed the U.S. basing at Subic Bay and Mt. Pinatubo that buried Clark AFB under tons of volcanic ash. The Philippines kept raising the leasing fees for these bases (and after Clark AFB was rendered non-usable), The United States refused to pay and decided to move out because the costs were too much for Subic Bay alone. The Philippines terminated the basing agreements in 1991 and U.S. forces were out by the end of 1992. This blindness on the part of the Philippine government cost the Philippines millions in lease fees and put 80,000 Filipinos out of work. A great move by the politicians.

Now the same politicians who threw the U.S. out, want us back? As far as I know there's nothing to return to at Clark AFB because the locals have stripped it of everything usable. Who knows what condition Subic Bay NavSta and Cubi Point NAS are in? There would have to be some very serious offset arrangements if the U.S. were to set up bases in the P.I. now.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

“...never been closer” ?

[armydawg505]

Running the Americans out once again proved to be a bad mistake some years ago. Of course, the peace dividend meant there would never be any more war. It always happens that way.

[Solson]

The Philippines are serious about getting the US back in to Subic Bay and Clark. They realize their mistake in asking the US to leave and need them back. The Chinese are menacing them in their own backyard and the Navy has little presence in the South Pacific.

Yes I'm biased. I love the Philippines and their people and they love us as well.

[blueunicorn6]

My parents taught me that to waste something was wrong. My Father had seen the hungry children in Korea during the war and oftentimes reminded me that they would have been very happy to have the food that I was wasting by not eating it.

He also told me that when he was a boy on the farm that they used “everything but the squeal” when they butchered a hog.

It is this desire to see things not wasted that causes me to be so frustrated with The Philippines.

They couldn’t wait to run us out of their islands.

Now, they want us back.

It would have been much less wasteful if the people of The Philippines had allowed us to stay there.

It will cost us a lot of money to open up military facilities there.

I have no illusions about the Chinese and their goals. The people of The Philippines are wise to be wary of China.

But, there should be a cost for being stupid and wasteful.

The people of The Philippines should bear the cost of this stupidity and wastefulness, not the American Taxpayers.

If they want us back, then they pay fully to bring us back.

“Waste not, get destroyed not.”

[microgood]

The Navy desperately needs Subic. Guam just gets hammered with typhoons and ours ships have no protection there.

[IronJack]

Exactly. Chickenshytes kicked us out 20 years ago because they didn’t want us Yankee running dog imperialists in their island eden. Now, they have the China jitters and American treasure is supposed to reassure them?

As Hannibal Lecter once said, “Quid. Pro. Quo.”

[kearnyirish2]

As I understand it, we are going back because some of the “Cold War Orphans” are looking at offers from the new “bad guy” - Red China.

A Portuguese co-worker described to me how Red China was going to use former US facilities in the Azores if we left them or reduced the force there; Portugal was interested just to keep the local economy humming. What happened in towns across the US as bases shut down also happens when we do it around the world; restaurants, bars, supermarkets, drycleaners - they all wither & die.

[ought-six]

The PI kicked us out and now when they feel threatened they beg us to come back. Seriously.

[DIRTYSECRET]

1975. Viet Nam fell and President Marcos flew to China trying to make nice. Guess things have changed since then. It would be nice if our diplomats could bring Viet Nam, Japan, South Korea and even Taiwan together to deal with this. Collectively it still wouldn’t be strong enough. I call it “leading from behind.”