South China Sea: will US-Philippine military ties make Manila a target for Chinese forces?

Shipment of fuel from US to the Philippines raises suspicions the US is building up military supplies in the Southeast Asian nation

Manila’s closer ties with Washington could be ‘free insurance’ for other South China Sea claimants, says analyst

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A Philippine Navy AW109 helicopter is pictured on January 4 on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson during joint military exercises. The PLA sent its navy and air force to monitor activities. Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines/AFP

Published: 10:00am, 21 Jan 2024Updated: 4:03pm, 21 Jan 2024

Philippine Senator Imee Marcos said the silence from Manila and Washington was “inexplicable”.

In a statement earlier this month, the senator, who is also the sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, said the shipment of 147 million litres (39 million gallons) of US Navy fuel from the American base at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, to Subic Bay in the west of Luzon, demanded an explanation.

The silence before the voyage raised suspicions that the US could be “pre-positioning” military supplies in the Philippines amid “predictions of an eventual war between China and the US over Taiwan”.

The issue was a matter of national sovereignty and transparency, she said.

In response, the US embassy to the Philippines said the shipment was coordinated with Manila and was “one of multiple shipments of safe, clean fuel”.

The US-registered tanker Yosemite Trader, which carried the fuel to the Philippines, later reportedly cancelled plans to discharge its cargo at Subic Bay.

But the incident highlighted the growing military ties between Washington and the Philippines, with experts warning of an increased risk that parts of the Philippines would be targeted by Beijing in a US-China war.