Marcos, Trump Confirm Subic Bay Ammo Hub Plan in the Philippines | Taiwan Talks EP679

Host: Yin Khvat

The site of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in the Philippines was the United States’ largest Pacific naval base up until the 1980s, with deep-enough water to berth aircraft carriers and with an enormous ship repair and logistics facility. In fact, it was known as the “logistics backbone” of U.S. Pacific operations. Now, it’s being quietly revived, more than 30 years after it was closed down.

When Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met Donald Trump this week for the first time, they were asked about a proposed Subic Bay ammunitions base. Trump’s said: "Yeah, it's very important. Otherwise we wouldn't. We need ammunition. ... We'll have more ammunition than any country has ever had. We're going to have more missiles than any country has ever had ... It's very important to me." Why is such a hub key for the US and the Philippines? And what does a revived Subic Bay mean for regional security?

Our guests:

Renato Cruz de Castro
National Chengchi University MOFA Taiwan Fellow
De La Salle University Department of International Studies Distinguished Professor

Guermantes Lailari
Taiwan’s Institute of National Defense and Security Research Visiting Researcher
Retired U.S. Air Force Foreign Area Officer

Chapters
00:00:00 – Subic Bay’s Role in Philippine-U.S. Ties
00:01:47 – Proposal for Joint Subic Ammo Hub
00:11:51 – Recent Defense Developments at Subic
00:23:24 – Deepening Philippine-U.S. Security Relations




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