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| Southeast Asia |
| Philippines reveals which military bases it is allowing US to use |
| 2023-04-04 |
There’s a cute little map at the link that is slightly useful in addition to being cute and little. [BenarNews] The Philippines on Monday revealed the names of four bases it granted the United States access to in an agreement in February, with two of them confirmed to be facing Taiwan, and one of the others the South China Sea.The sites in Cagayan, at the Naval Base Camilo Osias in Sta Ana, and Lal-lo Airport in Lal-lo, face Taiwan, while the base in Balabac island in Palawan faces the South China Sea. The fourth site is in Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela, the Presidential Communications Office said. Defense Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said these sites in the country’s "outer portion" would be a deterrent factor. "These areas are significant because as we see in Balabac island, that’s within our sea lines of communications, it’s a $3 trillion worth of trade route," Galvez told news hounds on Monday. "We also have to think of our responsibility to the international community. Our responsibility to collectively secure that is very huge." Galvez said construction of facilities at these new sites was expected to start "immediately," adding that Washington was keen on moving fast so the United States Congress could deliberate on and approve a budget for the projects. These sites are in addition to five previously approved for U.S. access. Those are the Cesar Basa Air Base and Fort Magsaysay in the provinces of Pampanga and Nueva Ecija north of Manila; the Antonio Bautista Air Base and Benito Ebuen Air Base in the central provinces of Palawan and Cebu; and the Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro city in the south. The Presidential Communications Office said the new sites are expected to "boost the disaster response of the country as the locations will also be used for humanitarian and relief operations during emergencies and natural disasters." China has opposed the expanded EDCA deal, earlier saying it would put Manila in harm’s way by getting dragged into the "Taiwan question." Cagayan and Isabela provinces, in the northern Philippines, face Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing claims as part of its territory. "Those visionary people all asked the soul-searching questions: If the new sites are located in Cagayan and Isabela, which are close to Taiwan, does the U.S. really intend to help the Philippines in disaster relief with these EDCA sites?" a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Manila said in a statement last month. "And is it really in the national interest of the Philippines to get dragged by the U.S. to interfere in the Taiwan question? It is plain and simple that those moves are part of the US efforts to encircle and contain China through its military alliance with this country," it said. Balabac island is in the southern tip of the province of Palawan, which is bordered by the South China Sea in the west. The Philippines officially calls these waters within its exclusive economic zone as the West Philippine Sea. China and the Philippines have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, along with Taiwan and the Southeast Asian nations of Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam. China claims almost the entirety of the vast waters on historical grounds despite a 2016 international court ruling that invalidated Beijing’s sweeping claims. Meanwhile, ...back at the pond, the radioactive tadpoles grown into frogs. Really big frogs, in fact... in a statement issued Monday, the U.S. Department of Defense said the new locations would allow Washington "to respond more seamlessly together to address a range of shared challenges in the Indo-Pacific region." It further said it intends expand funding in addition to the U.S. $82 million (4.47 billion pesos) it has allocated toward infrastructure investments at the existing EDCA sites. "The United States and the Philippines have stood shoulder-to-shoulder as friends and allies for more than seven decades, unwavering in our treaty commitments and our shared vision for a more peaceful, secure, and prosperous region," the statement said. The Philippines divulged the locations two months after Manila and Washington announced their deal to expand their Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. EDCA supplements the Visiting Forces Agreement, a 1999 bilateral pact providing legal cover for large-scale joint military exercises between the U.S. and the Philippines, Washington’s longtime defense ally in Asia. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #9 What makes a map 'cute'? It's complicated. But basically, it has to do with the map projection. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2023-04-04 16:25 |
| #8 At the risk of being a periwinkle bat target I prefer my maps to be useful rather than cute, dear USN, Ret. Also, I’ve been prepping for Passover, and it’s possible I was a bit loopy by that point even if we’re only doing a small dinner tomorrow for my mother and the two girls at home. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2023-04-04 16:14 |
| #7 Looking at that map I was struck at how far they were from Manilla. |
| Posted by: magpie 2023-04-04 15:29 |
| #6 I guess Alongapo at Subic is out. No Po City. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2023-04-04 14:26 |
| #5 What makes a map 'cute'? |
| Posted by: Angusoter Panda7797 2023-04-04 14:18 |
| #4 Robin Williams....."Oh no! The Germans are coming. The Germans are coming. Americans, we LOVE you." |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2023-04-04 08:42 |
| #3 The old refrain from Angeles City to migrate north, "New in town sailor?" |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2023-04-04 08:31 |
| #2 At the risk of being a periwinkle bat target, TW’s opening comment sounds like the sort of word salad we expect from our wonderful VP. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2023-04-04 07:48 |
| #1 I wonder what that's going to cost us. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-04-04 05:34 |