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US military in talks to develop port in northern Philippines facing Taiwan
The port will be at a choke point that will be crucial in case China decides to invade Taiwan. Read more at straitstimes.com.
UPDATED
3 HOURS AGO
MANILA – The US military is in talks to develop a civilian port in the remote northernmost islands of the Philippines, the local governor and two other officials have told Reuters, a move that will boost American access to strategically located islands facing Taiwan.
US military involvement in the proposed port in the Batanes islands, some 140km from Taiwan, could stoke tensions at a time of growing friction with China and a drive by Washington to intensify its longstanding defence treaty engagement with the Philippines.
The Bashi Channel between those islands and Taiwan is considered a choke point for vessels moving between the western Pacific and the contested South China Sea and a key waterway in the case of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. The Chinese military regularly sends ships and aircraft through the channel, Taiwan’s Defence Ministry has said.
Ms Marilou Cayco, provincial governor of Batanes, said she sought funding from the US for the construction of an “an alternative port” there, which was intended to assist the unloading of cargo from the capital, Manila, during rough seas in the monsoon season.
She said the plans were to build a port on Basco island, where the local authorities say high waves often make the existing port inaccessible, and that a decision could be made in October.
The Philippines has in the past year almost doubled the number of its military bases that US forces can access, ostensibly for humanitarian assistance, and also has thousands of US troops in the Philippines at any given time, rotating in and out for joint training exercises.
China has said these US moves were “stoking the fire” of regional tensions.
Two other Filipino officials, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, said US troops visited Batanes recently to discuss the port.
One, a senior military official, said the Philippine armed forces were interested in a radar and improving monitoring capabilities in the area.
Ms Cayco confirmed the visit, saying they came “one time to assess” the proposed alternative port.
The move comes as Washington pursues closer ties with Asian nations to counter China in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines, its former colony and treaty ally.
Mr Kanishka Gangopadhyay, a spokesman for the US embassy in Manila, said US Embassy and US Army Pacific (Usarpac) experts have been engaging the governor and local government, “at their request, to discuss ways Usarpac can support engineering, medical and agricultural development projects in the province”.
He did not mention the port specifically.
Marcos increases US access
Previous president Rodrigo Duterte had threatened to scrap the US-Philippines alliance and realign Manila with Beijing, but relations between China and the Philippines have grown tense under the current President, Mr Ferdinand Marcos Jr.Mr Marcos, the son and namesake of the disgraced late strongman president, has sought closer ties with Washington, granting it access to four more military bases, including several close to Taiwan, though not in Batanes, and announced joint patrols in the South China Sea.
Mr Marcos has said the bases under the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (Edca) could prove useful if China attacks Taiwan.
Security officials in Manila said they believe any military conflict in the Taiwan Strait would inevitably affect the Philippines, given its geographic proximity to Taiwan and the presence of over 150,000 Filipinos on the democratically governed island.
Batanes also served as one of the training sites during the joint military exercises, known as Balikatan, in 2023, which involved more than 17,000 Filipino and American troops, making it the biggest edition of the military drill.
At the time of the exercise, Ms Cayco said she was seeking investment to build seaports and airports in the island province that is home to 18,000 people.
The province could harbour Filipinos fleeing Taiwan if conflict breaks out there, and residents have been worried about mounting tensions, according to local government officials.
The Philippines and China have also clashed in recent months over disputed waters in the South China Sea, with Chinese vessels firing water cannons on a Filipino vessel trying to send supplies to an outpost.
Ms Cayco said she did not have any conversation with the US about Edca or about radar installations.
She also said there have not yet been discussions about what access the US would have to the proposed port, but troops could use all ports in the area for regular military exercises like the Balikatan.
Mr Jay Batongbacal, maritime affairs expert at the University of the Philippines, said the proposed port “would certainly be needed for the island’s defence in a worst-case scenario”.
“If I were a Chinese strategist, I would want to take the Batanes at minimum in order to ensure control of the Luzon straits and use the island to prevent the approach of adversary naval forces,” he said. REUTERS
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There is really no peace in this region for as long as the red big bully keeps on harassing its neighbors.
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