Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:
Exclusive-U.S. military in talks to develop port in
Philippines facing Taiwan (2/2)
Wed, August 30, 2023 at 3:29 a.m. PDT
By Karen Lema and Poppy McPherson
(continue)
MARCOS INCREASES U.S. ACCESS
Previous President Rodrigo Duterte had threatened to scrap the U.S.-Philippines alliance and realign the country with Beijing but relations between China and the Philippines have grown tense under the current president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Marcos, the son and namesake of the disgraced late strongman president, has sought closer ties with Washington, granting it access to four more military bases, including several close to Taiwan, though not in Batanes, and announced joint patrols in the South China Sea.
Marcos has said the bases under the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) could prove useful if China attacked Taiwan.
Security officials in Manila said they believed any military conflict in the Taiwan Strait would inevitably affect the Philippines, given its geographic proximity to Taiwan and the presence of over 150,000 Filipinos on the democratically-governed island.
Batanes also served as one of the training sites during this year's joint military exercises, known as Balikatan, which involved more than 17,000 Filipino and American troops, making it the biggest ever edition of the military drill.
At the time of the exercise, Cayco said she was seeking investment to build seaports and airports in the island province that is home to 18,000 people. The province could harbour Filipinos fleeing Taiwan if conflict breaks out there and residents have been worried about mounting tensions, according to local government officials.
The Philippines and China have also clashed in recent months over disputed waters in the South China Sea, with Chinese vessels firing water cannons on a Filipino vessel trying to send supplies to an outpost.
Cayco said she didn't have any conversation with the U.S. about EDCA or about radar installations.
She also said there had not yet been discussions about what access the U.S would have to the proposed port, but troops could use all ports in the area for regular military exercises like the Balikatan.
Jay Batongbacal, maritime affairs expert at the University of the Philippines, said the proposed port "would certainly be needed for the island’s defence in a worst case scenario."
"If I were a Chinese strategist, I would want to take the Batanes at minimum in order to ensure control of the Luzon straits and use the island to prevent the approach of adversary naval forces," he said.
(Reporting by Poppy McPherson and Karen Lema; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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小馬可斯增加美國進駐
前總統杜特爾特曾威脅要廢除美菲聯盟，並與北京重新結盟，但在現任總統小馬可斯的領導下，中國和菲律賓之間的關係變得緊張。
小馬可斯是名譽掃地的已故強人總統同姓馬可斯的兒子，他尋求與華盛頓建立更密切的關係，允許華盛頓使用另外四個軍事基地，其中包括幾個靠近台灣的軍事基地，但不在巴丹群島，並宣佈在南中國海進行聯合巡邏。
小馬可斯表示，如果中國攻擊台灣，增強防務合作協議（EDCA）下的基地可能會發揮作用。
馬尼拉安全官員表示，他們相信台灣海峽的任何軍事衝突都將不可避免地影響到菲律賓，因為菲律賓地理位置靠近台灣，而且這個由民主方式治理的島嶼上有超過 15 萬菲律賓人。
巴丹群島也是今年名為 “肩並肩” 的聯合軍事演習的訓練場之一，該演習有超過 17,000 名菲律賓和美國士兵參加，是有史以來規模最大的一次軍事演習。
演習期間，Cayco表示，她正在尋求投資，在這個擁有 18,000 人口的島嶼省份建設海港和機場。 當地政府官員表示，如果台灣爆發衝突，該省可能會庇護逃離當地的菲律賓人，而居民們一直擔心緊張局勢加劇。
近幾個月來，菲律賓和中國還在南海爭議水域發生衝突，中國船隻向一艘試圖向前哨基地運送物資的菲律賓船隻發射高壓水槍。
Cayco表示，她沒有與美國就 EDCA 或雷達安裝進行任何對話。
她還表示，目前尚未討論美國將怎樣進駐倡議的港口，但部隊可以使用該地區的所有港口進行定期軍事演習，例如 “肩並肩” 演習。
菲律賓大學海事專家Jay Batongbacal表示，倡議中的港口 “在最壞的情況下肯定需要使用於該島的防禦” 。
他說： “如果我是一名中國戰略家，我至少會想拿下巴丹群島，以確保控制呂宋海峽，並利用該島阻止敵方海軍的接近。”
So, the
U.S. military is in talks to develop a civilian port in Batanes islands located
the at the remote northernmost of the Philippines, a move that would boost
American access to strategically located islands facing Taiwan. The proposed
port would be located less than 200 km (125 miles) south of Taiwan. Obviously, both
China and the US know that Batanes is important to ensure control of the Luzon
straits in the event of a conflict.
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