Federico Segarra |
Subic (Philippines) (EFE).- Located in the idyllic Subic Bay, what was the largest US naval base abroad until the end of the Cold War is now regaining prominence, as it is a candidate to host the new to US troops, as part of Washington’s plan to double its military presence in the Philippines to control China’s movements on Taiwan.
“Everyone here wants the Americans to return, we were all doing better,” Anna Magsay, a 46-year-old street vendor, explained to EFE, who had already been selling “souvenirs” to US personnel decades ago.
To this natural refuge on the northwestern coast of the Philippines, just 120 kilometers north of Manila, Washington could send US troops 31 years after leaving, at a key moment in the struggle between China and the US. to expand their influence in the Peaceful.
In the area there are still vestiges of the US presence: several bunkers abandoned by the Army where ammunition was stored, which today are hidden under dense vegetation, flank one of the roads once restricted to military personnel.
From the idyllic enclave, surrounded by a dense tropical forest, one can still appreciate the magnitude of the US naval base abandoned three decades ago, and which now appears as one of the possible new locations for US troops.
Subic, a military complex that was key during the Vietnam War -when it came to house up to 47 US Navy ships, welcoming more than 4,300 Americans-, sounds like one of the new bases to which troops from USA will be able to have access in the country.
This was agreed on February 2 by the Philippines and the US, extending the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Pact (EDCA), so that five more bases are added to the four pre-existing ones to which the US. The US already has access in the Asian archipelago since 2014.
Subic is a crucial geostrategic enclave: it is located about 800 kilometers south of Taiwan and about 700 kilometers north of the Spratly archipelago, in the South China Sea, disputed between China and countries in the area, including the Philippines, for which it would give access to both contentious areas to US ships.
It is also a time of escalation of tensions, when China increases its expansion into the waters of the South Sea, rich in resources and crucial for the transport of goods, and, above all, when concerns about the sovereignty of Taiwan.
And it is that China does not rule out invading the self-governing island, which it considers part of its territory and that Washington would in principle defend, which is why the location of the Philippines has made it a key piece in the struggle between the two great powers.
For its part, the Philippines, which during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte (2016-2022), became closer to China, has changed course after the arrival of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last year, seeking to strengthen its historic security alliance with United States, especially given the increase in harassment of its ships by Chinese ships in Philippine territorial waters.
Support among the local population
In Subic, a town that prospered thanks to US investment in the region and became a free zone in 1992, it is hard to find anyone who opposes the return of US troops.
For Jonny Pois, a waiter at a beachfront restaurant, “the return of the US would be very good for business. Bars, restaurants and hotels used to be full here, ”he recounts.
However, the deputy director of the Subic Bay Authority, Ramón Aggregado, is more cautious, although he warns that the final decision on whether Subic will receive US troops again will be made by the central government in Manila.
“There are very good memories of the American presence in the area, so generally people support the return.” However, Aggregado qualifies that “we have to understand that Subic is an investment center, and as far as possible, we want to maintain our economic interests”, without being involved in conflicts.
Why is our war Taiwan?
The use of new bases for US support, the location of which is yet to be revealed, is not to the liking of the entire Philippine political class.
The governor of a northern province of the island of Luzon where another of the bases could be, less than half an hour by plane from Taiwan, Manuel Mamba, has publicly opposed this, since he sees China, the main commercial ally of Philippines, “as a friend and partner,” recently adding that they would spend “sleepless nights” if a conflict broke out between the US and China.
The same sister of the Philippine president, Senator Imee Marcos, has questioned the initiative and has asked the Philippine Army to speak clearly: “Why is our war Taiwan? So are we going to fight for America?” she asked at a Senate hearing on Wednesday.