The Philippine State, Society
& Economy, 1986-1992

Sept 13, 90
Gulf Crisis Magnifies
Importance of U.S. Bases
By Ramon Isberto (IPS-Inter Press
Service/Global Information Network)

The crisis in the gulf may improve the Philippines' bargaining position in talks on renewal of two big U.S. military bases in the Philippines scheduled to begin here next week.

Although most of the U.S. military build-up in the Persian Gulf has been coursed through Europe and Turkey, the gulf crisis is seen here to have revived what seemed to be a declining strategic value of the Philippine bases to Washington after the cold war thawed.

The renewed importance of overseas military bases may improve the chances that the pentagon will have the money to pay for them.

"Before Kuwait, the foreign affairs guys were content just getting U.S. surplus equipment from western Europe," said one Philippine military specialist who has closely followed the bases talks. "Now they are excited again about the chances for getting a fatter compensation package."

Washington and Manila have been haggling mainly over how much "rent" the United States should pay for its facilities, like this huge air force base 60 miles north of Manila.

According to latest indications, Clark Air Base is supposed to be the bargaining chip Washington is ready to sacrifice in exchange for keeping the more valuable naval base in nearby Subic.

But for a base about to close shop, Clark is bustling with new construction and modernization. Lt. Col. Ron Rand of the U.S. 13th Air Force told reporters $150 million were being spent on revamping the base, including the construction of a new runway.

The clash between the images of a base in the thick of a building boom and persistent reports of an impending closure highlights the ambivalence that marks next week's talks.

The Philippine panel will be headed by Foreign Secretary Raul Manglapus while Washington's delegation will be led by U.S. special negotiator Richard Armitage.

Washington's stand is that it would very much want to keep the bases, but is prepared to leave if told to go.

And Philippine President Corazon Aquino is said to have decided to negotiate for a new treaty that would allow U.S. to keep Subic for up to 10 years.

Aquino's position had long been anticipated. Her stance of "keeping all options open" on the bases had been viewed from the start as a ploy to parry strong nationalist agitation for their closure.

Meantime, she has searched for a politically palatable compromise that would allow the U.S. to stay beyond the present lease which lapses in September 1991.

Aquino may be hoping to appease the anti-bases lobby here by letting Clark go while providing a renewable three-year lease for Subic.

A possible Clark-Subic trade-off has been the subject of inquiry in U.S. Policy study circles for several years, but U.S. officials here downplay the speculation.

"The facilities here are very significant," says Col. Steve Ritchey of the U.S. Air Force's planning service, who says Clark provides huge advantages in logistics, operations presence and "unparalleled" facilities for bombing and gunnery practice.

Other analysts disagree. Anti-bases advocate Rolando Simbulan, author of a book entitled "Bases of Insecurity," says Subic can perform the major functions of Clark, such as supplying U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf via the Indian Ocean base of Diego Garcia.

Moreover, Clark offers better prospects for conversion to civilian use than Subic. The 132,500-acre base with its runaways and other base facilities would make an excellent replacement for Manila's overcrowded international airport.

There is said to be space for building industrial estates filled with light manufacturing export industries that could take full advantage of modern airport facilities.

The pull-out of some 19,000 U.S. servicemen and dependents will hurt business in Angeles City, the town outside Clark. But local businessmen there re already eyeing new options that may be openedby a major new civilian airport in their midst.

Though the U.S. can still have access to Clark via a joint use or privatization arrangement, recent developments have reinforced a growing sense that Clark's closure is near.

While this may help Aquino defang the anti-bases lobby, it weakens her already feeble chances of getting a fat compensation package from a U.S. administration struggling to slash its budget deficit despite the gulf crisis.


Copyright © 1990 IPS-Inter Press Service/Global Information Network . All Rights Reserved.



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