By Henry Empeño | July 31, 2024

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Senior officials of the United States arrived in this former American military base on Wednesday in an unannounced visit, following meetings with President Marcos the day before to reaffirm commitment to the U.S.-Philippines Alliance.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson, along with US Embassy staff, arrived at the Subic Bay International Airport on board a C-130 military plane at about 9:45 a.m.

They were met at the tarmac by officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), among them Directors Joseph Khonghun, Tomas Lahom III, Edelberto Mozo, Amable Tolentino, and Honorio Allado III. SBMA Chairman and Administrator Jose Aliño, who was out of town, was represented by Chief of Staff Von Rodriguez.

From the airport, Austin and Carlson were shuttled off via ferry across Subic Bay to the Redondo Peninsula, where U.S. private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management have taken over the operation of the former Hanjin shipyard.

Austin also visited the ship repair facility here of Subic Drydock Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Guam-based Cabras Marine Corp., which undertakes repair of civilian and military vessels, including those owned by the United States Navy.

The SBMA released photos of the arrival of Austin and Carlson, citing as background U.S.  government plans to invest in the Luzon Economic Corridor that includes the Subic Bay Freeport, Clark Freeport, and Manila and Batangas. But no other details about the visit were mentioned by the SBMA.

Austin and Carlson, along with their entourage, left Subic around 4:00 p.m. on board the same military aircraft, SBMA sources said.

It might be recalled that Cerberus obtained last year a 50-year lease on the 300-hectare shipbuilding facility now called Agila Shipyard. The area previously sparked interest among Chinese investors after Hanjin Subic defaulted on its loans and discontinued operations here in 2019.

Following the arrival of Cerberus in Subic, speculations were rife that the U.S. military would return here some 30 years after relinquishing its hold over what was once America’s biggest military facility outside of continental U.S.

The U.S. military’s independent news source Stars and Stripes reported on May 8 last year that the revived US-PHL partnership under Pres. Marcos is bringing back U.S. forces back to the Philippines.

A day before his Subic visit, Austin, along with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, met with Pres. Marcos, as well as Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro.

A press statement from the U.S. Department of Defense (Dod) said that the meeting among Austin, Blinken and Marcos “underscored the historic strength of the U.S.-Philippines Alliance, which both countries are expanding and modernizing in support of a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Austin and Blinken also “reaffirmed U.S. support for the Philippines in defending its sovereign rights” and discussed the “importance of preserving the rights of all nations to fly, sail, and operate—safely and responsibly—wherever international law allows,” the DoD said. 

PHOTO:

SBMA Director Joseph Khonghun welcomes Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III to Subic Bay upon his arrival at the Subic airport on Wednesday. (SBMA Photo)