A New U.S. Military Commitment: Philippines

A NEW US MILITARY COMMITMENT: PHILIPPINES

US military planners have just concluded a deal with the Philippines, allowing stationing of military equipment and building of facilities in 4 new locations across the Philippine islands. The US already has access to 5 military sites, mainly air bases. The motivation is preparation for a possible Chinese attack on Taiwan. The northernmost Philippine island, Itbayat , is only 93 miles from Taiwan.

Due to Philippine protests the US closed its last permanent base in the Philippines in 1992. The new facilities are supposedly “not permanent”. The US is anxious to have bases for submarines, missiles, rear support and intelligence gathering. Along with Japan the US will now have a strong chain of islands covering the whole Chinese coast.

The president of the Philippines since June 2022, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., is anxious for US military cooperation, unlike his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, president 2016-22. The Philippines (pop. 114 million) was a US colony 1899-1946.

The US with its huge military budget goes on expanding its foreign footprint using the excuse of a Chinese threat. There appears to be no limit to the U.S. hunger for hegemony. 

(Source: The New York Times, 2/1/23)