US Army helps build 'emergency facility' on Philippines' Itbayat Island

Posted to Taiwan News (May 31, 2024): US Army helps build 'emergency facility' on Philippines' Itbayat Island (By Duncan DeAeth)

Itbayat Island is in Bashi Channel and 200 km south of Taiwan



US and Philippine soldiers work on construction of facility on Itbayat. (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — U.S. Army engineers have been working with the Philippines military to construct a weatherproof facility for emergencies on the island of Itbayat in the Bashi Channel, which separates Taiwan and the Philippines.

For the past three months, U.S. Army personnel have been working on the site, which is described as a “facility to store emergency equipment and provisions, and even use as shelter during natural disasters.” One soldier quoted in a press release by the U.S. Army referred to the facility as a “weatherproof warehouse for disasters.”

Early this year, Manila announced plans to invest resources and strengthen the infrastructure and defensive capacity of Batanes Province, the country’s northernmost territory. The news comes one week after reports the Philippine Coast Guard established a new monitoring station on Itbayat.

According to the press release, the new facility will serve as a secure location to provide communities with protection in the event of natural disasters or other emergencies. According to one U.S. officer working on the site, the engineers are the first U.S. Army personnel to visit the island of Itbayat since the 1960s.

Warrant Officer Elissa Pedely said, “There's been challenges in getting the right materials and approved permits, that's because we're building something that really hasn't been done here … These projects require very specific materials and very particular specifications that make construction in general a challenge.”

Late last year it was reported the U.S. military was in talks with Philippine officials to build a port facility on the Batanes Islands. In March there were further reports that a delegation from the U.S. Army was in talks with the provincial government to construct a seaport that would ostensibly aid in the rapid evacuation of Philippine citizens in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan.

The proposed location of the alleged port project, also touted as an alternate port in the province to receive cargo from Manila during the monsoon season, was never disclosed.

In April, when Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was asked about the possibility of U.S. access to military bases being expanded to Batanes Province, Marcos denied any plans to expand the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the U.S.

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/5881163