[Military.com] Supporters of a deal allowing American access to military bases in the Philippines hope the new president-elect, Rodrigo Duterte, will embrace the agreement despite his outspoken opposition to U.S. influence and his promise to change foreign policy when he takes office next month.
Washington and Manila have yet to work out the details of a base-sharing agreement that calls for developing five military bases to be used by rotational U.S. forces, and Duterte would face strong resistance if he simply abandoned agreement, an executive order by current President Benigno Aquino. But proponents of the base-sharing plan are worried that his administration could effectively neuter it through delays.
The two nations announced the base-sharing deal in February under the terms of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement signed in 2014. Those facilities are Antonio Bautista Air Base, Basa Air Base, Pampanga, Lumbia Air Base, Fort Magsaysay, and Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base.
Defense Department spokesman Bill Urban said, "The U.S. is working closely with the Philippines to develop project proposals to enhance the existing military infrastructure and installations at these five locations that will enable high-impact, high-value training for both the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. Pacific Command."
Runway repairs and expansions, depots for disaster-response supplies and fuel storage tanks are among the infrastructure upgrades being considered. A decision has not been made on the upgrades, said a spokesman for the Philippine Department of National Defense.
The five bases require varying amounts of improvement, particularly Fort Magsaysay and Basa Air Base, which are in remote areas and lack sleeping and mess hall facilities that meet American standards for rotations longer than a few weeks.