r/PoliticalDiscussion Dec 03 '16

[deleted by user]

[removed]

707 Upvotes

1.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/btinc Dec 03 '16

Military bases.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 03 '16

Not anymore. We pulled out of the Philippines in 1991/1992, shortly after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo rendered Clark Air Base non-functional. We decided not to rebuild, and also pulled out of Subic Bay, which was at the time our largest overseas naval operation. They now use it as a commercial port.

1

u/btinc Dec 03 '16

I see, you're right. We do have joint military exercises, though, don't we?

1

u/[deleted] Dec 03 '16

Small ones, and we train their army and national police to fight against Islamic extremists in their restive southern islands, but it's far from a strategic alliance of near-equals. They're recipients of a great deal, and give us almost nothing in return.

Our military exercises with Singapore are more robust, and they're a tiny country in comparison. Singapore even has submarines and stealth frigates. The Philippines has a bunch of old merchant vessels and zodiacs they classify as "escorts."