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WASHINGTON – The Philippines has agreed to allow the United States to use five military bases where US troops and supplies can be stationed under a security deal agreed amid rising tensions with China’s excessive claims in the South China Sea.

At the 6th US-Philippines Bilateral Strategic Dialogue in Washington yesterday, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Amy Searight said the deal was reached under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

The military facilities identified are the Antonio Bautista air base in the western island of Palawan near the South China Sea, Basa air base in Pampanga, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Lumbia airport in Cagayan de Oro and the Mactan-Benito Ebuen air base in Mactan.

US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg told reporters that movements of personnel and supplies to the base locations would take place “very soon.”

The EDCA grants Washington increased military presence in its former colony through rotation of ships and planes for humanitarian and maritime security operations. It allows US soldiers, warships and planes to temporarily base in Filipino military locations.

The EDCA was signed by both countries in 2014, but implementation was held up until the Supreme Court
upheld its legality in January.

US troops were forced to withdraw from their bases in the Philippines in 1992 in a dispute over rent. With the onset of EDCA, the Philippines is shaping up as a major staging base for projecting US naval and air power in the face of China’s maritime expansion in the South China Sea.

In a joint statement released during the bilateral dialogue, the Philippines and US also reaffirmed their commitments to the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951. Searight said that Manila was a “critical US ally” and ties had never been stronger.

Searight also announced that US Defense Secretary Ash Carter would visit the Philippines in April to discuss implementation of the agreement.

Goldberg described the agreement, valid for an initial 10 years, as “a pretty big deal” that would allow for a greater US presence as part of the US rebalance to Asia and enhance the alliance with the Philippines.

He also stressed that it did not allow for permanent US bases that existed for 94 years until 1991, when the Philippine Senate voted to evict them.

“This isn’t a return to that era. These are different reasons and for 21st century issues, including maritime security,” he explained, adding that all US deployments would require Philippine approval.

The Antonio Bautista air base in Palawan is a highly volatile area contested almost wholly by China and partially by the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.

The Basa base in Pampanga, on the other hand, is a major Philippine Air Force base about 16 km from the old US Clark Air base.

Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija is the largest military reservation in the Philippines and primarily a training area. Its training facilities include airborne and amphibious training, jungle survival and guerrilla warfare. US forces already use a small part of the reservation to store weaponry and equipment needed for annual Balikatan exercises with the Philippine military.

Part of the Lumbia airport in Cagayan de Oro will be converted into a US storage depot for disaster relief equipment.

The Mactan-Benito Ebuen air base has a 10,000-foot runway, which it shares with the Mactan-Cebu international airport. It was constructed by the US Air Force in the mid-1950s as an emergency landing strip for Strategic Air Command bombers.

In January, the Philippines said it had offered eights bases for US use, including the former US air force base of Clark and the former US Navy base at Subic Bay, as well as two sites on Palawan island near the South China Sea.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said he was not aware of any other additional locations under discussion.

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Over the weekend, the United States and the Philippines concluded their Sixth Annual Bilateral Security Dialogue session in Washington, D.C. At that forum, one of the first fruits of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) came to bear: the announcement of five bases where the United States could rotate troops and pre-position facilities and materials in support of the U.S. Pacific Pivot.

Notably, four out of five of the locations are air bases: Basa AB in Luzon, Antonio Bautista AB in Palawan, Mactan-Benito Ebuen AB in Cebu and Lumbia AB in rebel-stricken Mindanao. Fort Magsaysay, to the north of the capital of Manila, is the only dedicated ground-force facility.

The choices present some interesting possibilities. Basa is home to several Philippine air force tactical strike squadrons and has plenty of room for any potential U.S. Air Force Combat Command components such as fighters and bombers. Mactan near the center of the archipelago holds most of the heavy lift planes of the Philippine air force, and is also co-located with an international airport and the nearby port. Lumbia is located in rebel-torn Mindanao, but just north of where most recent fighting has occurred, and home to the 15th Strike Wing, which has delivered air power against the insurgency effort for years.

It was the 15th that also delivered the PAF’s first precision guided strike using Paveway bombs against the Abu Saayaf rebels in the region, with U.S. Air Force technical assistance—a good harbinger of things to come. Antonio Bautista is on the island of Palawan and is in direct proximity to the Spratlys, fewer than 300 nautical miles to Pagasa—regional seat of the Philippines within the disputed island chain. Fort Magsaysay is already familiar ground for past joint U.S.-Philippine military exchanges.

The base announcements come on the heels of the annual

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Outside of Fort Magsaysay and potentially using some of the airbases for stopovers, the exercise will benefit in future years from the locations. At the moment, there are refurbishment requirements that must be funded and completed before the bases would be “move-in ready.” While critics point to a return to U.S.-based Cold War era, it’s important to remember that these are all Philippine owned and operated bases, and the U.S. will rotate troops, build facilities and pre-deploy material within that base governance, unlikely the wholly occupied and operated bases such as Subic Naval Base and Clark Air Base.

The distinction is important, and still requires more development—for example, the base command and operations model is yet to be determined. Who is in charge overall, and can the United States act unilaterally from its portion of the base? Additionally, it complicates the threat posed by China: unlike encounters on the high seas, an attack on U.S. forces in EDCA camps is a direct attack on the Philippines by virtue of the occupancy model. There is no distinction or ability to discriminate a surgical strike on U.S. forces or materials.

While the pivot is one of the driving factors toward the implementation of EDCA, the bases also will serve as forward facilities to assist in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Recovery (HA/DR). Mactan-Benito Ebuen is at the center of the region hard struck in recent years by powerful typhoons, and it’s a perfect staging ground for heavy and light lift elements to bring in much-needed aid during those times.

What is notably absent from this list however, are naval bases. And at the heart of the various Maritime Security challenges in the region, air power alone cannot address the root causes of the instability—naval presence and capability must be present.

So why did Subic and others not make the list?

For one, Subic was converted into a economic export zone following the 1991 U.S. withdrawal and converted into industrial space to support interested businesses. It was only in mid-2015, as part of the Modernization Act support activities, that the Philippine Department of National Defense signed a 15-year lease with the Export Zone Authority to reclaim sections of the old naval base.

As such, refurbishment efforts are still under way and the port may not be ready to expand and accept more occupants such as the U.S. 7th Fleet yet. Incumbent president Benigno Aquino is also set to leave office in the summer, and his administration may have chosen to leave this decision to the next administration.

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Brumby said:

Analysis: New U.S.-Philippine Basing Deal Heavy on Air Power, Light on Naval Support

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AgustaWestland was awarded by the Philippine's Department of National Defense with the contract to provide two anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters. The two AW159 Wildact helicopters will be assigned to Philippine Navy. The award was made after DND announced in late 2015 that AgustaWestland was the sole proponent for the said project.
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The AW159 Wildcat is in use with the UK Army Air Corps and Royal Navy. It has also been ordered (8 units) by the Republic of Korea Navy. The Philippine Navy becomes the second export customer of the Wildcat.

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Blackstone said:

It's a mistake for US and Philippines to up the military ante in the SCS, since it gives China the cover to respond in kind by stationing both offensive and defensive equipment in the Spratlys.

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China flexes muscle in disputed waters

Indonesia also mulling arbitration

MANILA, Philippines - Beijing is flexing its military muscle in the South China Sea, driving away Filipino fishermen from Panatag Shoal and preventing the Indonesian coast guard from detaining a Chinese vessel caught poaching in Indonesia’s waters.

The development prompted Jakarta to summon the Chinese ambassador and sparked new concerns over China’s growing assertiveness in staking its claims in disputed waters.

Indonesian fisheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti said his country has for years been pursuing and promoting peace in the South China Sea.

“With the (March 19) incident we feel interrupted and sabotaged in our efforts,” Pudjiastuti said. “We may take it to the international tribunal of the law of the sea.”

Earlier, at least 10 Filipino fishermen reported being harassed and driven away from Panatag or Scarborough Shoal by a Chinese coast guard vessel. The shoal, off Zambales province and well within the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone, has effectively been under Chinese control since 2012.

Indonesia protested yesterday what it described as an infringement of its waters by a Chinese coast guard vessel at the weekend, the foreign minister in Jakarta said.....to read more

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SamuraiBlue said:

Ask the Indonesians or Filipino fishermen if they share your thoughts.

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Blackstone said:

It's no surprise Indonesian or Filipino fishermen are against China flexing its muscle in disputed waters. On the other hand, it doesn't matter what they think, because they don't have the influence nor the instruments to effectively shape Beijing's civil and military options in the 9-dash line. To the contrary, their lobbying efforts would likely produce furthering hardening of positions from all sides, if that's even possible, and continue to diminish the already minuscule chances for compromise.

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ManilaBoy45 said:

Philippines Selects AW-159 Lynx Wildcat for ASW Mission

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The Philippines has selected the AgustaWestland AW159 Lynx Wildcat to fulfil its anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter requirement, IHS Jane's has learned.The Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) has awarded the Anglo-Italian manufacturer a contract for PHP5.3 billion (USD114 million) under its Anti-Submarine Helicopter Acquisition Project for the Philippine Navy, according to a DND Notice of Award document seen by IHS Jane's on 23 March.While the document gives no details on the helicopter type or numbers, AgustaWestland had previously announced that it was bidding two AW159s for the requirement.The news of the contract award comes a month after AgustaWestland officials said they were optimistic it would be awarded "very soon", though the company told IHS Jane's it is unable to comment on the contract award at this time.

The competition to provide the Philippine Navy with an airborne ASW capability, which it currently lacks, was launched by the DND in September 2014. It is understood that Airbus Helicopters and its local partner PT Dirgantara Indonesia expressed interest in bidding the AS565 Panther for the programme, though it was not confirmed if a formal bid was entered, while Bell Helicopter, NHIndustries, and Sikorsky were also reported to have shown interest with the 412EP, NH90, and S-70B Seahawk respectively.In the ASW role the AW159 can be configured to carry active dipping sonar (ADS), sonobuoys, and torpedoes, while for the anti-surface warfare role it can be armed with anti-ship missiles, rockets, and guns. Once in Philippine Navy service, the AW159s are expected to be deployed aboard the navy's Pilar (Hamilton and Hero)-class frigates BRP Gregorio Del Pilar and BRP Ramon Alcaraz , which were acquired from the US Coast Guard in 2012 and 2013.

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