MANILA – Ferdinand Marcos Jr., president of the Philippines, is in charge of a traditional development of military ties with the US, putting the Southeast Asian country in the South China Sea in conflict with China.
A recent report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, DC’s Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative ( AMTI ) demonstrates in vivid detail how the Philippines is quickly modernizing a large number of military bases as part of its Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement( EDCA ) with the US Pentagon.
AMTI has tracked accelerated development activities across as many as nine EDCA bases across the Spanish island using open-access data, public statements from top Filipino officials, and high-resolution satellite pictures.
The report also reveals that infrastructure improvements at some military bases date back to 2016, despite Rodrigo Duterte’s adamant opposition( 2016 – 22 ), who supported closer ties with Beijing and frequently lobbied politicized broadsides against the traditional allies in the US and West.
The Basa Airbase on the island of Palawan, which is close to the hotly contested Scarborough Shoal, received more US money and nbsp for growth than all other amenities. Critically, EDCA stand near the contentious South China Sea have seen the most spectacular enhancements.
According to the ATMI review, the rail and plane storage facilities at the Antonio Bautista Air Base have” received considerable upgrades since 2016.”
Major infrastructure projects paving the way for a three-kilometer-long airport on the local Balabac Island, also in the southwest state of Palawan that protrudes into the South China Sea, predated the participation of the services there under an expanded EDCA announced in 2023.
The continuous US-backed plans to improve a number of Asian military and civil facilities near to Taiwan’s southern shores worry China just as much.
The legislative leaders of the Philippines just visited Thitu Island and pledged sizeable money for important system upgrades, strengthening their position within the Spratly group of islands.
The defense logic behind the Marcos Jr. administration’s expanded military participation with the US has been constantly emphasized.
But based on all evidence, the Philippines is actively strengthening its deterrence against China’s growing influence in the South China Sea to the west while also getting ready for possible repercussions in Taiwan, a neighboring country.
similar to a father and son
In terms of history, Marcos Jr. ‘ s proactive defense strategy is in line with that of his late father, who skillfully used the Philippines’ Cold War ally with Washington to increase the corporate freedom of the Southeast Asian country while ruling the country with an iron fist for nearly 20 years.
For example, Marcos Sr. increased the Philippines’ corporate influence in the contentious Spratly Islands throughout the 1970s. The second-largest naturally formed property feature in the South China Sea, Thitu Island, saw the creation of the first modern airport as a result of this.
The Richard Nixon administration sought to distance itself from its alliance’s marine interests because it was troubled by the Philippines’ strategic development in the disputed places.
Henry Kissinger, the secretary of state at the time, insisted that Washington’s Mutual Defense Treaty ( MDT) with Manila should not be reduced to a” carte blanche” for the Philippines to deploy forces anywhere in the Pacific, including the South China Sea, with the assurance that the other Party will be bound by the MDT in case of an attack on those forces.
In the event of conflict with other claimant states, most notably Vietnam and China, Kissinger reiterated that” there are substantial doubts that the Filipino ] sic ] military contingent on island in the Spratley group would come within protection of( MDT ).” The Nixon management was therefore” most reluctant to accept” extending the MDT to Asian states across the Spratly Islands. & nbsp,
Subsequent Spanish governments did not capitalize on the nation’s strategic advantage in the South China Sea after the Marcos dictatorship fell.
State-of-the-art Asian services deteriorated in the 1990s and 2000s as a result of numerous coup attempts and ongoing financial difficulties. We lacked resources for such activities, as erstwhile Asian leader Fidel Ramos admitted to the author, and the country was having trouble perhaps meeting its most basic security requirements.
Surprisingly, the Philippines, which boasted among the best-equipped military forces in the area throughout the middle of the 20th century, did not acquire even a single current fighter plane until the mid-2010s.
Manila modernized its armed forces, brought a case to international arbitration against China, and — most importantly — negotiated the EDCA with the US during the Benigno Aquino administration.
But, the Philippines made the decision to put off andnbsp the renovation of its features in the Spratly group of islands in order to uphold” the moral high ground.”
In order to satisfy Beijing, the new Duterte management sought to sever ties with Washington. The Pentagon’s calls to phrase weapons systems in designated services, particularly those close to the South China Sea, were denied by the pro-China Duterte, which hindered the full application of EDCA.
Time to catch up
However, according to the AMTI’s most recent report, the Philippines’ US-friendly defence establishment started infrastructure upgrades in a number of EDCA services as early as 2016.
However, under Marcos Jr., who chose to expand the list of foundations under EDCA after a largely useless trip to Beijing earlier this year, Philippine-US safety cooperation has significantly accelerated.
The Philippines have repeatedly emphasized that the EDCA is only a protective tactical move. Marcos Jr. insisted that EDCA foundations” are never… intended to be military outposts to strike, to move against someone … not China, not any state” during his visit to Washington earlier this year at a CSIS event.
Additionally, the president of the Philippines declared that EDCA services would not be used as” staging areas” for offensive actions against any other nation. Marcos Jr. asserted that the Pentagon” always brought up the possibility of using EDC sites” against China.
The US hasn’t been permitted to carry offensive weapons at EDCA stand in the north Philippines for any possible operations against China, particularly over Taiwan, according to Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo.
The Philippine political main stated during an April legislative hearing that” EDCA is not intended for any second land outside of its intended use for the Philippines and of course in connection with our treaty with the United States.”
Senior Filipino leaders, however, frequently acknowledged the significance of EDCA in containing China’s growing confidence in the South China Sea. Colonel Medel Aguilar, a spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines( AFP ), stated earlier this year that the designated facilities will also be” made available during emergency situations for combined use of both the US and the AFP ( Armed Fires ).”
Marcos acknowledged that EDCA locations will be essential to Taiwan’s future during his trip to Tokyo earlier this year. The Filipino leader acknowledged that military services” will also prove to be helpful for us if that terrible event( China’s invasion of Taiwan ) come about ,” despite the fact that” conflicts across the Taiwan Straits seem to are continuing to increase.”
The AMTI’s most recent report on the condition of EDCA facilities is extremely dramatic in light of this context of strategic misunderstanding. Initially, the EDCA facilities included Fort Magsaysay( Nueva Ecija ), Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base ( Cebu ), and Antonio Bautista Air Basa( Pampanga ).
The Balabac Island in Palawan, Taiwan Naval Base Camilo Osias( Santa Ana, Cagayan ), Lal-lo Airport in Changan, and Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu( Isabela ) were among the four additional bases that Marcos Jr. approved earlier this year.
Washington and NBP agreed to spend$ 66.5 million on the initial five stand in November. Before Marcos Jr. ‘ s trip to the US in April, Washington consented to spend$ 100 million on the expanded list of EDCA bases.
In that month, the Philippines made it clear that up to five jobs had already been completed by that point, and that eight of the remaining 16 tasks in the five original websites had made” significant progress.”
The Basa Air Base near the Spratly Islands has received more US money and nbsp for infrastructure initiatives, according to the AMTI record. Up to$ 66.57 million had been set aside as of the first quarter of this year for the construction of facilities for a variety of uses, including humanitarian aid and disaster relief( HADR ), as well as for airport parking, fuel storage, runway improvements, and command and control infrastructure.
Significant improvements have also been made to the adjacent Balabac Air Base in recent years, including the construction of a 3, 000-meter runway for both military and civilian uses. The Spanish government has made significant investments in this base.
Additionally, updates are picking up in more northern-oriented stand. The AFP announced in May that with National funding, up to 14 jobs will be built in the four new EDCA stand.
Manila announced in September that it was looking for American help to construct a command centre, energy storage facility, wharf, and an airstrip repair facility at the Camilo Osias Naval Base at Lal-lo Airport. The US is anticipated to move forward this quarter with assistance in constructing a human port on Batanes’ most isolated northern islands. & nbsp,
Importantly, the Philippines has independently strengthened its military installations in Thitu Island, a member of the Spratly group of islands in the South China Sea, as well as & nbsp, Mavulis, Island. These islands are just over 100 nautical miles from Taiwan’s southern shores.
Richard Javad Heydarian can be followed on Twitter at @ RicheyDarian.