POST-EDCA | SBMA allows Philippine Air Force, Navy to set up partial bases inside Subic Freeport

From InterAksyon (May 9): POST-EDCA | SBMA allows Philippine Air Force, Navy to set up partial bases inside Subic Freeport

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT ZONE -- In relation to the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the United States and the Philippines, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority board last month approved a resolution allowing the Philippine Air Force and the Philippine Navy to set up partial military bases inside the Freeport, SBMA Chairman and Administrator Roberto V. Garcia said early this week.

The PAF, Garcia on Monday said, is planning to rebuild the former FedEx area to house the 24 fighter jets the Philippines is buying from South Korea.

The Philippine Navy, on the other hand, is eyeing an area encompassing the Alava, Riviera and Juliet wharves, all inside the Freeport, where the two Hamilton-class frigates acquired from the US -- the BRP Alcaraz (PF-16) and BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15) -- will be home ported.

“We approved that (resolution) in principle, of course, because the primary consideration is national security,” Garcia explained.

“As you know, Subic is considered very strategic because (it is) only 120 miles from the flashpoint which is the Bajo de Masinloc. So it is very important that Subic is ready to respond,” Garcia added, referring to the disputed territory, also known as Scarborough Shoal, where China and the Philippines have had run-ins.

“The mandate of SBMA is that we are a Freeport. However, that does not preclude us from hosting these Philippine bases in the interest of national security,” the SBMA chief stressed.

“However, I pleaded that we must be able to allow our locators to continue their business (here). There are many examples in which military establishments are located beside commercial establishments like in Singapore, Frankfurt in Germany and in Okinawa, Japan. The important thing is that we are in a state of readiness,” Garcia said.

Garcia, however, was quick to add that he “remains optimistic that the agreement will be a temporary one that will serve the purpose of benefiting most Filipinos.”

At the same time, a US Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine is arriving in Subic Bay Friday for a routine port call “to replenish supplies as well as give the crew an opportunity for rest and recreation.”

The visit by the USS Chicago, the US Embassy said, highlights the strong historic, community and military connections between the United States and the Republic of the Philippines.

It is also the first visit to Subic Bay of an American submarine since the US and Philippines signed the Enhanced Defense and Cooperation Agreement, which allows the increased presence of US military forces and their use of Philippine military facilities.

The new defense pact was signed hours before President Barack Obama arrived in Manila on April 28 on the last leg of a four-country Asian tour.
The submarine is also arriving just as tensions heightened once more in the West Philippine Sea after maritime police intercepted and took in a Chinese fishing vessel with a crew of 11 loaded with more than 500 endangered turtles.

China has protested the incident, calling it a "provocation," a charge denied by Philippine authorities.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/86388/post-edca--sbma-allows-philippine-air-force-navy-to-set-up-partial-bases-inside-subic-freeport