Posted on 06/08/2012 10:36:57 PM PDT by LibWhacker
With the U.S. moving the majority of its naval fleet to the Pacific, commanders are eagerly looking for invitations to park the planes and ships that will be pouring into the region.
Travis Tritten at Stars and Stripes reports that the Pentagon has apparently been fanning the old flame of friendship with the Philippines and will be re-opening two bases it left in 1991 — Subic Bay and Clark Air Base.
The U.S. had a falling out with the island nation in the early nineties and pulled out of the bases, which were then built-up by a series of private developers and builders. How useful what's left is a matter of debate, but the locations used to be major centers of operation for American forces in the Pacific.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Hmmm.
I’ll go back!
TT
Couldn’t have said it better myself. They should pay us for protecting them. What natural resources do they have besides tilapia? Oh, that’s right.. The bar girls are pretty hot.
Someone has some stories to tell. Hahahaaa..
Subic bay ... Olongapo city ... sh$t river ... clap city ... San Miguel beer ... fond memories.
[I’ll go back!]
Compared to being stationed in the Middle East it will be like dying and going to Heaven. There’s a number of military retirees that will be glad to get a PX again.
-PJ
Ernie’s Third Eye Supper Club, Marylyns, Dogpatch Hotel...
14 piso mojo in that place off West Tapinac...
Of course White Castle Rum must not be forgotten either.
-PJ
The citizens of Olangapo have to be doing cartwheels of joy hearing this news. Some not, maybe, but most.
Ah, yes, the corner of Magsaysay and Rizal - there’s a Christian Science reading room there. I heard there were other things going on in Olongapo but naturally I wouldn’t know what they were.
Monkey meat on a stick Mmnn, Mmnn, Mmnn. I don’t remember any of that other stuff though :)
“88888 I thought we pulled out of Clark because Mt. Pinatubo erupted and destroyed the place. 88888 “
We can rebuild it... we have the technology...
I want to be so in on this project... I love that place almost as much as Texas
TT
China Warns Phillipines of War
Thursday, May 10, 2012 5:38:16 PM · by MrDaddyLongLegs · 56 replies
Yahoo 7 News ^ | 11/5/2012 | AFP
MANILA (AFP) - China told its citizens Thursday they were not safe in the Philippines and its state media warned of war, as a month-long row over rival claims in the South China Sea threatened to spill out of control. Chinese travel agencies announced they had suspended tours to the Philippines, under government orders, and the embassy in Manila advised its nationals already in the country to stay indoors ahead of planned protests. http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/world/13654401/china-warns-citizens-as-row-with-philippines-escalates/
Been to that very reading room... that is why I want to go back
Youth is so wasted on the Young
TT
ping
ping
Good point. I just checked Wiki and they say, fwiw, the base had already been closed prior to Pinatubo because lease negotiations had failed. I think there was a skeleton crew still there when the volcano erupted and they pulled out at the last second.
Have you heard of this?....my wife’s family sure has told of the Chinese money invasion.
Lumpia?
I love lumpia, and all those folks at Subic ...BEST PLACE (next to Texas)
Fried Rice with over easy eggs on top...
VP Alley
TT
“My retirement plans may have just changed”
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Sure, come on over...Great living, provided you have the right
attitude, and stay away from Manila or Cebu city.
I would never even land at Manila.... rated the worst airport in the world.
All of my flights are in or out of Cebu city’s Mactan, another former US airfield
By the way, Clark is now a commercial airport, served by AirAsia, and others.
Some places are cooler, weather-wise, than others, right?
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And wherewithal is wasted on the old. Cripes! |
While it may have been monkey meat, as I recall, there weren't many cats or dogs running around in Ologapo. The street vendors would only say "Baaaaar - B -Q!", never specifying barbequed what. :=)
Yeah we are screwed... coming and going ... we cannot win
TT
“I thought we pulled out of Clark because Mt. Pinatubo erupted and destroyed the place.”
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I think it was a case of the Philippines getting a bit snotty
about US military presence.
Clark is now a free trade zone, and only 40 km from Manila.
http://www.visitclark.com/
“Some places are cooler, weather-wise, than others, right?”
________________________________________
Well, yes, if you want cool, you live on a mountain.
I live on a beach, but 3100 foot Osmena peak is part of my municipality, Dalaguete, Cebu.
There are also mountain cities up on Luzon, but I have no desire to live in that part of the Philippines.
Does it cost a lot to run air conditioning?
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It's fun trying though :) |
Take it from a retiree living in the Philippines, (since 2001), there will be no PX or Navy Exchange. The Clark Field is now populated with many international corporations and a new civilian hospital was just built there. There is even a major mall there.
The same is true for Subic. There are major international corporations there, a commercial shipping port and a new hospital also. Subic is a FreePort now.
The plan, as stated in the local newspapers, is that ships will come into port for repairs, supplies and R&R, but there will not be any ships stationed in Subic nor will there be more than a small contingent of U.S. Navy personnel in Subic.
Clark Field is now an international airport, but U.S. military flights do stop there, mostly they are bringing in Army personnel and Marines that arrive to conduct training exercises and advisor duties with the Philippine military.
There is a large group of Filipinos that do not want our military in the Philippines. There are women rights groups that also don’t want us in the Philippines. And there is still a question concerning the Status of Forces Agreement. Some Filipinos want U.S. service members who are accused of criminal activity to be held in Philippine jails prior to going to trial, (which can take many years before going on trial).
As far as I know, this issue has not been worked out with the Philippine Government.
It is said that our ship and planes will rotate in and out of the former bases but will not be permanently stationed at the bases, nor will they stay for prolonged periods of time.
Thanks for the information. I was there with Enterprise during the first half of the 70’s. Some of the most beautiful geography in the world with a generally suckey government, not that I can point to an example of an unsuckey government. Beautiful place to be.
“Does it cost a lot to run air conditioning?”
____________________________________________
Well, that depends on how you use it.
I have one A/C in the bedroom, but run it only when going to bed. It is on a timer to run for a few hours.
The rest of the time, I have a cheap ceiling fan over my computer chair in the main room, and one over the bed.
Electricity is not cheap...about 10 cents per kwh.
My electric bill is about $100 per month, but over half of that is for making ice that we sell. Freezer + Refrigerator
I could see Subic being something like we've got in Sembawang, Singapore. A small Navy Exchange, Commissary and a Navy Federal but that's about it. And the ships would only be visiting.
The big mess made by Mt. Pinatubo was a matter of “good timing”.
That’s really no different from what’s going on now, is it? With the exception of some personnel being stationed there. Ships have been making liberty calls at Subic again for a while now, although I can’t imagine what they are like in today’s PC Navy. Pretty disappointing I imagine. They can’t take my fond memories though.
Ping to PI returns
Thanks for your detailed report. I had wondered how the locals coped with the loss of revenue when the bases shut down. Obviously the transformation of these sites into office complexes, hotels, warehouses, airports, etc. offers more dignified alternatives to the old rackets.
Those islands are ran by and largely owned by a relatively small number of elite ruling famililes . . . more or less like the rest of the planet . . .
Anyway . . . make them pay, if you wish.
Just be careful not to trouble the wonderful Filipino people who have plenty of struggles all on their own, already.
Yeah like we really need this...”The Philippine Government faces threats from armed communist insurgencies and from Muslim separatists in the south.”
Those islands are ran by and largely owned by a relatively small number of elite ruling famililes . . . more or less like the rest of the planet . . .
Anyway . . . make them pay, if you wish.
Just be careful not to trouble the wonderful Filipino people who have plenty of struggles all on their own, already.
Truth bump
1962 - spent almost six months tied to the pier. Fond memories indeeed.
Some places are cooler, weather-wise, than others, right?....Bagio felt like PA in the early fall. Course I’d just come up from Blue Beach with a heck of a sunburn.
“Those islands are ran by and largely owned by a relatively small number of elite ruling famililes .”
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There are 7107 islands here.
Which ones are you talking about?
When Subic closed in 1991, Mayor Gordon secured the base and stationed guards to keep the looters out, (Angeles City did not do that for Clark). Mayor Gordon then started plans to make Subic a FreePort and eventually got the Philippine Government to agree. Call Centers were the first to set up, but computer manufacturers were right behind them.
The old navy facilities were remodeled and turned into things like, a yacht club and fancy restaurants. The Officers housing and enlisted housing, (Kalayan, Binictican etc), were turned into rental housing for corporate executives and lower management personnel.
The Navy would have no need to establish a Navy Exchange because there are so many duty free stores in the Subic FreePort along with major shopping malls in Olongapo and on the old base.
There are numerous major hotels in the FreePort now and many public beaches.
Cubi Point, (the old Navy Air Station on the Subic Bay Naval Station complex), is now an international airport and the old Navy hospital at Cubi point is now a large civilian hospital.
Currently U.S. navy ships make port calls at Subic, but no more than two or three a year. The Island of Palawan, where I live, has had two U.S. Navy ship visits in the last three years, the last was earlier this year. The visits are short and are in conjunction with joint Naval exercises.
Go to http://wikitravel.org/en/Subic_Bay for more details.
You’re right..no corruption or ruling elite..i’m sorry...carry on.
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