Philippines’ army base transfer plan sparks China ire

From the Oman Tribune (Aug 2): Philippines’ army base transfer plan sparks China ire

MANILA/BEIJING China has assailed the plan of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to transfer its air and naval bases to a former American military installation in Zambales province in Central Luzon, warning the move would allow the entry of outside forces and thus, worsen regional tension.

“If all related parties resort to military means as Manila has for a resolution, the region will surely become a powder keg,” said deputy director of the Centre for Chinese Borderland History and Geography at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Li Guojiang in a statement published by the state-owned China Daily. Li was reacting to the AFP plan to transfer its air and naval bases to Subic Bay in Zambales, a former US naval installation which has been converted into a freeport by the government.

In his statement, Li also said the move violated the spirit of the code of conduct on the South China Sea adopted by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and warned it would increase the risk of conflict in the region. On Saturday, Peter Paul Galvez, the spokesman of the Department of National Defence, confirmed the transfer plan, saying it was already being discussed by senior defence and military officials.

Galvez explained the transfer aimed to strengthen the country’s defences against territorial incursions by China as exemplified by the unresolved dispute between the two countries on the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.

Galvez pointed out that Subic is located only about 124 nautical miles from Scarborough Shoal known as Panatag to the Filipinos and Huangyan island to the Chinese. But more than that, the transfer to Subic would be much cheaper because of its existing resources like deep water ports, an airport, runways and similar facilities instead of building a new military base like the Sangley Point naval station in Cavite province in Southern Luzon, Galvez pointed out. Earlier, Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin confirmed the transfer plan which militant groups claimed would skirt the constitutional ban on the establishment of foreign military bases and allow the entry of foreign forces like those from the US.

But under a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the two countries, American soldiers are allowed “rotational entry” into the Philippines like the conduct of military exercises or war games with their Filipino counterparts.

The same agreement also allows the visit of US warships and warplanes to  Subic for refueling and maintenance and whose increase has significantly increased since the Philippine-China dispute in the South China Sea.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, meanwhile, told his politburo on Wednesday the country wanted to resolve its maritime territorial disputes peacefully and through talks, but would not compromise on sovereignty and had to step up its defensive capabilities. 

Territorial claims by Japan and China over the uninhabited islets and resource-rich waters in the East China Sea, as well as China’s claims over the South China Sea, rank as some of Asia’s biggest security risks. 

At a meeting with members of the ruling Communist Party’s inner elite, Xi said China would adhere to the path of peaceful development, but “in no way will the country abandon its legitimate rights and interests, nor will it give up its core national interests”, state media reported. 

China will “use peaceful means and negotiations to settle disputes and strive to safeguard peace and stability”, Xi was quoted as saying, without naming any countries. His comments were the most high-level remarks on the subject in weeks. 
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