Will the Philippines’ Subic Bay become a US naval hub once again?
- Once the site of Washington’s largest overseas naval base, a recent visit by US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has sparked speculation
Austin visited the base in Subic Bay, located in Zambales province north of Manila, as the final stop on his 11-day trip through the Indo-Pacific last week alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Austin previously visited the base in April 2023.
According to a US Department of Defence press release, Austin toured the Navy facility and several defence industrial sites on Wednesday “as a way to highlight opportunities there for defence industrial cooperation by the United States, the Philippines, and other regional allies and partners.”
Subic Bay was the site of the US’ largest overseas naval facility until Washington withdrew from its military bases in the Philippines in 1991.
Since then, both Philippine and American military forces have been utilising the 262-square-mile area to facilitate resupply, refuelling, and repair of vessels. Subic’s port facilities also support the delivery of US military equipment into the Philippines during bilateral exercises.
Austin’s visit to Subic Bay came after he and Blinken met with Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo and Secretary of National Defence Gilberto Teodoro in Manila to discuss strengthening defence ties and the increasingly heated territorial disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea.