#Hyperdrive: The Americans are back. In a big way.

They’ve always been here, some would say. Not really.

After the Philippines ejected the US bases more than 30 years ago, we were not on the Americans’ radar. In 1995, three years into the power vacuum in the region, China stepped in and took control of Mischief Reef. We did not hear from the Americans who were still reeling from their former colony’s nationalist outburst.

It took a couple of years more before security ties were renewed with the forging of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) in 1999. Frosty military relations started to thaw.

This was the period, the late 1990s, when China started to intrude into parts of the South China Sea that were within our country’s EEZ — which we eventually called the West Philippine Sea. They were not as aggressive then, giving the Philippines the opportunity to deliberately ground its ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, in Ayungin Shoal in 1999—without help from the US.

And then 9/11 happened. That changed the mood in America, as it sent its soldiers to many parts of the world to combat terrorism, including in Mindanao. They came as advisers and special forces providing intelligence, training, and logistics support in the fight against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).

The partnership of the US and Philippine military worked, eroding the strength of the ASG.

Enter China

The context changed in 2013 onwards when China did the unprecedented: They started building artificial islands in the South China Sea, converting these into air and naval bases. Their coast guard, navy and maritime militia roamed these waters, treating the South China Sea as their lake.

Fast forward to 2021. Security relations between the Philippines and the US went on hyperdrive during President Biden’s term. Our geography has made us an inevitable ally of the US in the face of China’s strategic overreach in the South China Sea — which borders Palawan, Zambales, and the western coast of Luzon — and President Xi Jinping’s call for a reunification with Taiwan, most likely by force.  

Under Trump, we are seeing a further intensification of these ties. The US reinstated the $500-million foreign military assistance pledged during the Biden administration, a significant amount.

In 2026, we will also see an increase in joint exercises and engagements between Manila and Washington to more than 500.

Apart from this, defense industrial cooperation in priority areas will begin, to include unmanned systems.

Task Force Philippines

Three locations in the Philippines are bustling with plans for US-funded infrastructure and activities: Batanes, Subic and Palawan. Thus, both countries set up Task Force Philippines — and next year will be its first year of operations. The Indo-Pacific Command of the US will be the central actor here.

Sixty US personnel will likely be deployed at select sites and in Camp Aguinaldo, the Philippines armed forces headquarters, mainly for coordination.

Let’s look at these places that demonstrate that the Americans are back. And by this, I mean a larger and more robust presence.

Batanes

It is the smallest and least populous province but its location is vital: the islands sit on the northernmost edge of the Philippines and are closer to Taiwan than to mainland Philippines.

This year, the Philippines and the US held joint military exercises there; a highlight was the US deployment of its anti-ship missile system (NMESIS). This marked the inaugural deployment of the newly fielded weapon system to the Philippines. It was a milestone in the alliance.

This is part of a broader strategy of the US to counter China’s military influence in the Luzon Strait, a strategic waterway close to 200 kilometers south of Taiwan, placing Batanes at the frontline of the Philippines’ territorial defense strategy, according to an extensive report of Reuters. The Luzon Strait links the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

A couple of months after this exercise,  the AFP opened its newest forward operating base in the coastal town of Mahatao, Batanes. It is the largest facility constructed in northern Luzon.

Palawan

The US is planning to set up a boat-repair and maintenance facility in the Philippine naval detachment in Oyster Bay capable of supporting unmanned surface vessels or drone boats, the USNI News reported. Oyster Bay on the coast of Western Palawan is home to Philippine Marine maritime units and resupply vessels.

USNI News also tracked this: In another part of the province, in the municipality of Quezon, close to Ayungin Shoal, the US plans to fund and build a facility that would host watercraft and assault boats to support the Philippines’ operations in the West Philippine Sea.

Subic Bay

The third location that shows the dramatic return of the Americans is in Subic Bay — not as a permanent presence, but in a flurry of activities and construction of structures. Here are some of these:

• A proposed joint ammunition manufacturing facility with US support aimed to help Manila build its own capacity.
• The US Navy plans to preposition Marine Corps equipment in the Philippines and is looking to activate a large storage facility within 100 kilometers of Subic Bay by 2026. This will be the first of its kind outside the Marine Corps preposition program in Norway.
• The US Navy will lease a 25,000 square-meter warehouse in Subic, with operations slated to begin in 2026: to house vehicles and a dedicated maintenance shop close to the US marines prepositioning site.

The recently released US National Security Strategy says that the US will prevent military confrontation in the Indo-Pacific through economic engagement and deterrence.  So far, what we’re seeing here on the ground aligns with the deterrence part. 

Unless Trump disrupts this by cozying up to Xi for a trade deal, 2026 will be a big year for America in the Philippines. 

Let me know what you think. You can email me at marites.vitug@rappler.com.

Happy holidays! Till next year!