Recent discussions indicate that the U.S. has been in discussion with the Philippines about taking a more active stance in their country—and establishing a handful of new military bases there. Japan’s Kyodo News runs an article in which they quote Rolen Paulino, the chairman of Subic Bay’s Metro Authority, who said he expects there to be a U.S. military installation built in Subic Bay because “during war, time is of the essence.” If this is true, it will be the first time the U.S. military would be stationed in Subic Bay, since they left there 30 years ago.
Kyodo News reports that these discussions are taking place under the umbrella of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), signed in 2014 under the Obama administration to bolster the military alliance between the U.S. and the Philippines. A number of military sites were constructed as a result, but tensions arose during the Duterte administration. One of Duterte’s spokesmen had said in 2021, “I think the president [Duterte] wants this to stop.... He needs to think about whether to drop EDCA also because that is the legal basis that allows American soldiers and equipment to remain in our country.” The Philippine government said last week that they are planning to speed up the implementation of EDCA, with the construction of new U.S. military sites and extended rotations for U.S. personnel.
A couple of high-profile visits have just occurred from the U.S. as well. First was the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines a few weeks ago, then Vice President Kamala Harris visited Nov. 21-22. The White House had said that Harris was visiting to discuss expansion of U.S. military presence under the EDCA agreement. Harris was quite crude in her attacks on China, without mentioning it by name, in a speech she gave aboard a Philippine Coast Guard vessel. “We will continue to rally our allies and partners against unlawful and irresponsible behavior,” she said, ostensibly in regard to illegal fishing in the South China Sea. “When the international rules-based order is threatened somewhere, it is threatened everywhere,” she asserted.
Also of note, Kyodo News reports that Cerberus Capital Management LP acquired the Subic Bay shipyard earlier this year. (https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/11/34dad3ba3fae-us-military-poised-to-return-to-subic-bay-counter-chinas-presence.html )
