Sleepy far-flung towns in the Philippines will host US forces returning to counter China threats

(13 May 2024)
RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Santa Ana Cagayan province, Philippines - 6 May 2024
1. Santa Ana Cagayan beach
2. Fishing boat on water
3. Various of U.S. Chinook helicopters landing on one of nine local military bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the Philippines and the U.S.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Manila, Philippines - 10 May 2024
4. Former Sen. Richard Gordon talking with reporter
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Richard Gordon, former Senator:
"Whenever a military power leaves a vacuum occurs and soon enough the Chinese were taking over Scarborough shoals driving our fishermen away, taunting and intimidating. The Chinese who are ramming Japanese boats in the Senkaku Islands, there is a lot of tensions out there."
6. Mid of Gordon listening to reporter's question
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Richard Gordon, former Senator:
"I said my God, I'am proven right. our Navy was all coast and no guard, our airforce was all air and no force, our fishermen was being pushed around."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Santa Ana Cagayan province, Philippines - 6 May 2024
8. U.S. Chinook helicopters preparing to take off
9. U.S. tents near Cagayan airport
10. U.S. troops inside tents
11. U.S. serviceman showing military equipment
12. U.S. tent pan left to military construction equipment
STORYLINE:
The far-flung coastal town of Santa Ana in the northeastern tip of the Philippine mainland has long been known by tourists for its beaches, waterfalls, fireflies and a few casinos.
But that’s changing after the laid-back town of about 35,000 people, which still has no traffic light, became strategically important to America.
The longtime treaty allies, United States and the Philippines, have identified Santa Ana in northern Cagayan province as one of nine mostly rural areas where rotating batches of American forces could encamp indefinitely.
They could also store their weapons and equipment on local military bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
Thousands of U.S. forces withdrew from two huge Navy and Air Force bases in the Philippines in the early 1990s at the end of the Cold War, ending nearly a century of American military presence in the country. In recent years, Washington has been reinforcing an arc of military alliances in Asia to counter an increasingly assertive China, which it now regards as its greatest security challenge.
A former senator Richard Gordon told the AP in Manila that the Chinese have been aggressive towards Philippine fisherman.
That dovetails with Philippine efforts to bolster its external defenses after an alarming spate of territorial hostilities with Beijing in the South China Sea that started last year. The high seas confrontations have injured several Filipino navy personnel, damaged their boats and strained diplomatic ties.
The remote town of Santa Ana is caught in the geo-political rivalry between Washington and Beijing because of its strategic location. It lies across a sea border from Taiwan, the self-governing island that China regards as a renegade province to be reclaimed by force if necessary. The U.S. has vowed to defend the territory.
AP video shot by Joeal Calupitan and Vicente Gonzales
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