Reports: US, Philippines building new naval base in Spratlys

[KS]

Reports: US, Philippines building new naval base in Spratlys - The Hill's DEFCON Hill

A new seaport being built by the Philippine government in the Spratly islands could become the Pentagon's military outpost in the hotly contested South China Sea, according to news reports.

Manila is looking to rebuild the seaport and adjoining runway on Pagasa Island, which part of the chain of islands off the coast of the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The Philippine government claims the effort is strictly designed to support commercial business and tourism to the island.

However local residents say the construction is the first step in creating a mini-naval base for U.S. and Philippine troops.


"It is near the Spratlys and U.S. can always check China's aggressive campaign claim over Spratlys and maintain its military interest in the Asian region ... these advantages are non-negotiable," Salvador France, head of Pamalakaya, a local advocacy group in the region, told The Philippine Star on Monday.

The installation could also be used as a jumping-off point for counterterrorism operations in the Palawan region of the southern Philippines. The area is home to the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic terror groups with ties to al Qaeda.

A U.S. special operations task force has been stationed in the region since 2001, supporting Philippine forces in their ongoing campaign against Abu Sayyaf and other Muslim extremist groups in the region.

American and Filipino forces are scheduled to begin military exercises in Palawan next month.

France also asserts the new facility on Pagasa Island will be the new home for thousands of U.S. Marines scheduled to leave Okinawa within the next two years.

DOD has planned to move the Marines to its installations in Guam, however the Pentagon is still reviewing plans for the move.

Congress blocked a request for additional funding to build up based in Guam in the fiscal 2012 defense bill, until DOD provides a road map on how the move will take place.

But that perceived foot-dragging by the department has drawn the ire of top congressional lawmakers in recent weeks.

"We acted, as is our responsibility, because of our intense frustration about the lack of progress on this issue," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told Navy and Marine Corps leaders.

The review, which Congress requested to be complete by the end of March, has yet to be completed, McCain pointed out during a March 15 hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"I'm not going to let you continue to slow walk us on this issue," he warned.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus told committee members that an private firm has been selected to conduct the assessment, but that company had not been put under official contract with DOD at the time.

However Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos told the committee the services and DOD were confident the assessment is on track.

"Both our government and the government of Japan at the very highest levels are still working through some of the issues, [but] I am comfortable" with future plans for Okinawa and Guam, he said.

The Spratly Islands and the surrounding South China Sea have been an area of contention among China and its neighbors in the Pacific.

The Pacific region is the focus of the Pentagon's new national security strategy unveiled in February.

Beijing claims the islands and surrounding waters as sovereign territory of China. Other nations, including the Philippines, have made similar claims.

Commercial vessels from those neighboring countries have complained of being harassed by Chinese naval ships patrolling those waters in recent years, further inflaming tensions.

Pacific Command sent a Navy destroyer to the South China Sea last June as a check against China's aggressiveness in the region.

Statements coming from Manila in recent days have only added to that tension.

Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmi told reporters on Tuesday that "there were many opportunities" for the Philippine government once the runway and seaport on Pagasa Island are complete.

However, he reiterated the facility would not be used for military purposes.

 

[utubekhiladi]

should we chip in?

 

[KS]

should we chip in?

Nahhh..the big daddy of Phillipines himself has started the project....

 

[Vishwarupa]

should we chip in?

Do your really feel GOI has the will to chip in

 

[arya]

we can also try something

 

[trackwhack]

Yes we must chip in, by building a naval base for Vietnam in one of the islands they control.

 

[Ray]

 

[William of Tyre]

Guess someone is quaking in his boots...... I hope the "Dragon" continue with its bullying against the "Pearl of the Orient Seas", so that the "Bald eagle" will have the perfect excuse to materialize this plan.

 

[Kiyoshi]

Guess someone is quaking in his boots...... I hope the "Dragon" continue with its bullying against the "Pearl of the Orient Seas", so that the "Bald eagle" will have the perfect excuse to materialize this plan.

Bald Eagle(United States) Feeding baby bald eagle(The Philippines)

Instead of the Philippine becoming like the Philippine Eagle.

 

[Anubhav T.]

Hello everyone!!! I am Anubhav. I've been an avid reader of this forum and finally decided to join in. Some of my fellow Indians here want to side with filipinos against China. No offence but have you ever been to philippines or worked with filipinos anywhere around the world? You have no idea how much they hate India and its people. Do you know all those name callings like Five Six , Turko or Bumbay. To them we are low life and stinky cheap people of a poor third world country as if they are some first world super rich nation. Just visit their forums on the net and you will know what they think of us.

I am not a hater but I 've experienced this myself. I dont think we should side with such haters and disrespectful people. Let them fight their own war and US.

 

[trackwhack]

Hello everyone!!! I am Anubhav. I've been an avid reader of this forum and finally decided to join in. Some of my fellow Indians here want to side with filipinos against China. No offence but have you ever been to philippines or worked with filipinos anywhere around the world? You have no idea how much they hate India and its people. Do you know all those name callings like Five Six , Turko or Bumbay. To them we are low life and stinky cheap people of a poor third world country as if they are some first world super rich nation. Just visit their forums on the net and you will know what they think of us.

I am not a hater but I 've experienced this myself. I dont think we should side with such haters and disrespectful people. Let them fight their own war and US.

Ok, lets all support China's claim.

 

[Gray Gonzalez]

Ok, lets all support China's claim.

wow. sorry to hear that my friend. but to give you meaning on what you just heard.

five six - meaning indian people who lend money to poor people in Philippines.

turko?? - dont know the meaning. or word does not exists in my vocabulary.



bombay
1)bombay ( now mumbai)is a city in western India just off the coast of the Arabian Sea; India's second largest city (after Calcutta); has the only natural deep-water harbor in western India.. )
2)includeds people who are filthy rich and people who are dirt poor..also has the infamous dharavi(biggest slum in asia)
3)amazing night life and the people are more open minded than the people from other indian cities its the safest city in india.and bombaites enjoy alot of freedom
4)Bollywood(indian film industry) is based in bombay.. so every indian celebrity lives in bombay.


I think you should be proud.

 

[Yusuf]

Anubhav, just an old adage, an enemies enemy is your friend. We have nothing to gain from the Philippines but it sure can be a pain in the behind for the Chinese and that is all we need.

 

[fzaq]

Hello everyone!!! I am Anubhav. I've been an avid reader of this forum and finally decided to join in. Some of my fellow Indians here want to side with filipinos against China. No offence but have you ever been to philippines or worked with filipinos anywhere around the world? You have no idea how much they hate India and its people. Do you know all those name callings like Five Six , Turko or Bumbay. To them we are low life and stinky cheap people of a poor third world country as if they are some first world super rich nation. Just visit their forums on the net and you will know what they think of us.

I am not a hater but I 've experienced this myself. I dont think we should side with such haters and disrespectful people. Let them fight their own war and US.

you are wrong with what your hinking Anubhav T. you see my friend when a filipino is in need of money, he approaches the bumbay. this is where the five-six comes in which is a help in times of need.
so you should be proud that you are helping the needy

 

[Anubhav T.]

Anubhav, just an old adage, an enemies enemy is your friend. We have nothing to gain from the Philippines but it sure can be a pain in the behind for the Chinese and that is all we need.

You are right brother, but I don't think they can be pain in the chinese behind with their so called navy (bunch of coast guard petrol vessels donated by US) and a non existent air force. They can be itch in the butt but no pain. They wont last a day in a naval or aerial warfare. Sooner or later big daddy US will join in. If that happens I will go and buy a 60 inch plasma and enjoy the show with chow mein and coke when two biggest bullies of the world take on each other.