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The US Will Re-Open Massive Philippine Bases Not Occupied Since The Cold War (Clark and Subic Bay)
Business Insider ^ | 6/8/12 | Robert Johnson

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 ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bases; china; clark; clarkafb; clarkairbase; pacific; pacificfleet; philippine; philippinebases; philippines; phillipines; subic; subicbay
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To: Mark17

Have you heard of this?....my wife’s family sure has told of the Chinese money invasion.


21 posted on 06/08/2012 11:12:36 PM PDT by chasio649 (Stop looking for heroes.)
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To: itsahoot

Lumpia?


22 posted on 06/08/2012 11:13:36 PM PDT by BwanaNdege (Man has often lost his way, but modern man has lost his address - Gilbert K. Chesterton)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

My retirement plans may have just changed.

http://www.LivingInThePhilippines.com


23 posted on 06/08/2012 11:17:43 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (Ich habe keinen Konig aber Gott)
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To: BwanaNdege

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


24 posted on 06/08/2012 11:20:49 PM PDT by TexasTransplant (Radical islam is islam. Moderate islam is the Trojan Horse.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

“My retirement plans may have just changed”
__________________________________________________

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.


25 posted on 06/08/2012 11:28:19 PM PDT by AlexW
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To: AlexW

Some places are cooler, weather-wise, than others, right?


26 posted on 06/08/2012 11:33:47 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (Ich habe keinen Konig aber Gott)
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To: TexasTransplant
"Youth is so wasted on the Young"

And wherewithal is wasted on the old. Cripes!


27 posted on 06/08/2012 11:35:45 PM PDT by I see my hands (It's time to.. KICK OUT THE JAMS, MOTHER FREEPERS!)
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To: itsahoot
Monkey meat on a stick.

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. :=)

28 posted on 06/08/2012 11:39:16 PM PDT by Bob
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To: I see my hands

Yeah we are screwed... coming and going ... we cannot win

TT


29 posted on 06/08/2012 11:42:31 PM PDT by TexasTransplant (Radical islam is islam. Moderate islam is the Trojan Horse.)
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To: Political Junkie Too

“I thought we pulled out of Clark because Mt. Pinatubo erupted and destroyed the place.”
_____________________________________

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/


30 posted on 06/08/2012 11:43:01 PM PDT by AlexW
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

“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.


31 posted on 06/08/2012 11:47:31 PM PDT by AlexW
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To: AlexW

Does it cost a lot to run air conditioning?


32 posted on 06/08/2012 11:50:04 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (Ich habe keinen Konig aber Gott)
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To: TexasTransplant
"Yeah we are screwed... coming and going ... we cannot win"

It's fun trying though :)


33 posted on 06/08/2012 11:52:13 PM PDT by I see my hands (It's time to.. KICK OUT THE JAMS, MOTHER FREEPERS!)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

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.


34 posted on 06/09/2012 12:01:01 AM PDT by usnavy_cop_retired (Retiree in the P.I. living as a legal immigrant)
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To: usnavy_cop_retired

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.


35 posted on 06/09/2012 12:08:17 AM PDT by Mycroft Holmes (<= Mash name for HTML Xampp PHP C JavaScript primer. Programming for everyone.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

“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


36 posted on 06/09/2012 12:10:30 AM PDT by AlexW
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To: usnavy_cop_retired
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.

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.

37 posted on 06/09/2012 12:14:34 AM PDT by Doofer (Still, a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.)
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To: Political Junkie Too

The big mess made by Mt. Pinatubo was a matter of “good timing”.


38 posted on 06/09/2012 12:21:11 AM PDT by Ezekiel (The Obama-nation began with the Inauguration of Desolation.)
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To: usnavy_cop_retired

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.


39 posted on 06/09/2012 12:25:53 AM PDT by GATOR NAVY
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To: doc1019
...ahhh...sweet memories of youth...heh heh heh...;)
40 posted on 06/09/2012 1:02:09 AM PDT by Tainan (Cogito, ergo conservatus sum)
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