{"id":550960,"date":"2022-03-10T21:29:57","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T21:29:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/ukraine-philippines-03102022161248.html"},"modified":"2022-03-10T21:29:57","modified_gmt":"2022-03-10T21:29:57","slug":"philippines-willing-to-open-bases-to-us-if-ukraine-conflict-spreads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/03\/10\/philippines-willing-to-open-bases-to-us-if-ukraine-conflict-spreads\/","title":{"rendered":"Philippines willing to open bases to US if Ukraine conflict spreads"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n
President Rodrigo Duterte is willing to allow American forces to use Philippine bases and facilities if the crisis in Ukraine stemming from the Russian invasion spreads to Asia, the Filipino ambassador to Washington said Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Philippines would honor the decades-old Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), which binds the two allies to aid each other in times if a foreign power attacks either country, and would allow the U.S. to use former American naval and air bases here, envoy Jose Manuel Romualdez said.<\/p>\n
If the U.S. asks for support, Duterte \u201cwas very clear that \u2013 if push comes to shove \u2013 the Philippines will be ready to be part of the effort, especially if this Ukrainian crisis spills over to the Asian region,\u201d Romualdez told reporters in Manila during an online forum.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe offered that the Philippines will be ready to open its doors, especially to our ally the U.S. in using our facilities, any facilities they may need,\u201d Romualdez said, speaking from Washington.<\/p>\n
Officials at Malaca\u00f1ang, the presidential palace in Manila, did not respond immediately on Thursday to an inquiry from BenarNews for further comment on what Duterte told the Philippine ambassador.<\/p>\n
Romualdez, who met recently with the president in Manila, said that Duterte indicated his approval to open former military bases in the event of an \u201cemergency situation\u201d and allow the U.S. forces to come back to the Subic Bay Naval Base and Clark Air Base if the Ukrainian conflict spills over in Asia.<\/p>\n
The two bases were among United States military\u2019s largest overseas installations but were shut down after the Philippine Congress voted to end their lease in the early 1990s, at the end of the Cold War. Since U.S. forces vacated both sites, they have been transformed into free ports and investment zones.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m pretty sure that the president meant this to be in an emergency situation where \u2013 let\u2019s pray it does not happen \u2013 but, if it spreads out in the Asian region for some reason or another, the President obviously sees that need for us to make a choice,\u201d Romualdez said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd our choice is \u2026 since we have an MDT with the United States, we have this special relationship and military alliance, he [Duterte] said he is allowing the use of facilities,\u201d the ambassador said.<\/p>\n