USN returning to Philippines?

bd popeye said:

I think so. The USN has been having port calls in Philippine ports with ever increasing frequency in the last three to four years. There has been an US presence in the Philippines almost continously since 9/11/2001. Military "excersises" are conducted regulary with Filipino forces...Carat 2005 as an example.

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As of late the USNS Mercy hospital ship has been in a couple of diffrent ports in the Philippines the last few weeks on a "Goodwill" mission. The Navy News Stand is full of pictures and stories about it.

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This is done to "butter up" congress for funds for some sort of return to the Philippines. I do not think any return to the Philippines is inniment at this monement but in 5-7 years don't be surprised to see a smaller version of Subic Bay Naval Station in service.

What sort of ramifications would this move have on Asia? Praticulary the PRC?

What sort of force would the USN move to Subic?

This is just pure conjecture on my part. A "gut" feeling in other words.

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The USN can expect a frosty welcome from the filipino muslims and
the phillipines government can expect a mass insurgency.

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bd popeye said:

They've been facing an insurgency since the end of WW 2. From the "Huks" (no offense to anyone.) And the Muslims in south Mindanoa. As for an insurgency in Luzon. If the comunist there still have any sort of stronghold anywhere. Anything can happen.

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He points to the comfort that the West's obsession with al-Qaeda has given unsavoury regimes around the world. 'For governments such as those of Algeria, Uzbekistan, the Philippines and Russia', he writes, 'attributing long-running local insurgencies to al-Qaeda, the newly discovered international bogeyman, was extremely useful, simultaneously releasing a flood of diplomatic, military and financial aid from Washington while also obscuring the role their own corruption, nepotism, repression and mismanagement had played in fomenting violence.'

The effect of 9/11 has been vastly to increase and reinforce the masses ranged against Western interests. Mark the developing relations between China and the Islamic world: a Saudi king visited Beijing for the very first time only last month. Burke warns that we proceed along our violent road at our peril. Complaining that we don't have enough forces in the field is the wrong answer. There really must be a better way than bombing people in resource-rich Muslim lands to realise the better lives to which they, like us, aspire.

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Philippine Army Recovers Beheaded Bodies

By TERESA CEROJANO Associated Press Writer
MANILA, Philippines Jul 11, 2007 (AP)

Philippine troops recovered the bodies of 14 marines, some of them beheaded, after clashing with Muslim insurgents while searching for a kidnapped Italian priest, a marine spokesman said Wednesday.

Nine others were wounded in some of the bloodiest fighting this year. The clash erupted Tuesday in Tipo Tipo town on southern Basilan island, said Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan

At least 10 bodies were beheaded, Caculitan said, including those of six marines earlier reported missing.

About 50 troops went to Basilan island to check on reports of sightings of the Rev. Giancarlo Bossi, a 57-year-old missionary from Milan who was kidnapped by gunmen on June 10.

The marines were heading back to camp when they were attacked by about 300 suspected Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, Caculitan said.

But Mohagher Iqbal, chief negotiator for the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is engaged in peace talks with the government, said his forces fought back after marines attacked an MILF stronghold.

He denied his forces were responsible for the beheadings, saying he would investigate. Four MILF members were killed in the fighting while seven others were wounded, he added.

Iqbal accused government troops of violating a 2003 cease-fire, saying they failed to coordinate their movements into the area with the rebels. He ruled out that Abu Sayyaf militants had sought refuge in the MILF stronghold, but did not explain who might have been responsible for the beheadings.

The gruesome decapitations are a trademark of the Abu Sayyaf, which has beheaded hostages in the past, including an American.

"It cannot be a mistaken encounter because it was a deliberate act on the part of the marines that entered the area, knowing that the area is a bailiwick of the MILF, in complete violation of the cease-fire," Iqbal said.

Still, he said, the clash was only a "tactical problem" and would not hamper peace talks with the government.

Philippine officials have issued conflicting statements on the identity of the groups that might have kidnapped Bossi

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AssassinsMace said:

Sorry if it was political but the last time there was talk about the US returning to the Phillippines, the issue of the brothels stirred protests. So it's probably going to be a point of discussion.

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I think it would be a good thing. It would be nice to have the Subic Bay facility reopened and possibly other facilities as well.

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It is unfortunate that we gave up the Philippines

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