UNDER the Visiting Forces Agreement, US ships and aircraft can visit Subic Bay for resupply, rest and recreation. The Philippine Navy has established its own naval operating base near the former shipbuilding yard.
The consequences of the buildup of US military forces will directly affect Filipinos because the nine bases are scattered across the country. They are bases for mid-range missile systems, specifically the Typhon and Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System launchers, High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, and various equipment for humanitarian aid and disaster relief. However, we have seen little disaster relief from the US military after our recent floods and typhoons.
These weapons and bases are prime targets for possible Chinese drone and missile attacks and aerial bombings in any conflict. The moral issue that has to be answered by Filipinos today: is it right they are in the line of fire like helpless pawns on a chessboard in a likely global conflict not of their own making?
The more immediate challenge to Filipinos from the expanding presence of the US military bases is the growing business of human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of Filipino women and children, and the spread of HIV-AIDS. These are the very same moral and social challenges the Philippines endured in the sex towns of Angeles and Olongapo cities during the long presence of US personnel in the Clark and Subic Bay bases until 1992. There are 750,000 Americans in the Philippines as of 2025; many of them are retired Filipino Americans and about 1,000 US servicemen. During military exercises, this number rises to about 11,000.
Hopefully, the Filipino people will be reminded of past mistakes and the possible threat of war in the future, brought upon them by their political leaders and US military presence in the country. China’s claims of ownership of most of the South China Sea were rejected by the arbitral tribunal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 2016. The court said China’s claims violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights, but Beijing has rejected this.
There have been provocative actions against Philippine Coast Guard ships. Besides containing the US military, China is likely planning to exploit the vast mineral and oil deposits in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. The US has a policy of “strategic ambiguity” about its reaction if China invades Taiwan. It claims Beijing will have that military capability by 2027. US President Donald Trump said recently that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had reassured him that there would be no invasion during his presidency.
This could be wishful thinking, as no one understands the secret plans and ambitions of China, and seizing Taiwan is Xi’s stated policy and legacy. Filipinos, partnered with the US, will be right in the crosshairs of a global conflict with America’s enemies, as it was in World War II. All that is needed to remove the US military presence in the Philippines is a goodbye letter from the Philippine government to Washington. Would it ever have the courage to do that and save the country from another possible war? That remains to be seen./PN
