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| Former US Navy Base Subic Bay (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki) |
MANILA — The Philippines may shift key air and naval assets to a former US naval base to boost its response time to waters contested by China, officials said Monday.
Subic Bay, which faces the strategically important South China Sea, was a major US naval facility until 1992, when it was converted into a busy freeport by the Philippine government.
“The discussions are preliminary, but utilizing Subic for our local navy could ideally be very strategic,” said navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Fabic. “It is a natural deep sea port that can accommodate the warships.”
Department of Defense spokesman Peter Paul Galvez also confirmed the plan, which would include the transfer of two key warships acquired from the US.
Read the full story at DefenseNews