The Armed Forces of the Philippines has inaugurated a new installation in the Luzon Strait, a 200-mile-wide (322 kilometers) body of water separating Taiwan and the Philippines.
The Mahatao Forward Operating Base on Batanes will help protect the country’s territory, keep watch over nearby waters, and respond to disasters.
Its location, roughly 120 miles (193 kilometers) off the coast of southern Taiwan, makes the area an important northern outpost for the Philippines, especially as tensions with China rise and worries about Beijing’s possible invasion of Taiwan grow.
Although the Philippine military has not revealed any specifics of the base, sources said the Mahatao site is the Southeast Asian nation’s largest armed forces infrastructure in the region.
The installation will be supervised by the Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM) based in Tarlac.
“More than a military facility, it is envisioned as a whole-of-nation platform, open for use by maritime agencies such as the [Philippine Coast Guard] and [Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources], as well as local fisherfolk, to enhance coordination in the Philippine seas,” NOLCOM said.
“Through this initiative, NOLCOM reaffirms its commitment to protect sovereignty, strengthen civil-military collaboration, and ensure that Batanes remains a secure and resilient northern gateway for the Filipino people.”
Vietnam Re-Enters Tensions in West Philippine Sea
The announcement followed China’s latest criticism of the Philippines, accusing Manila of provoking conflict in the West Philippine Sea while Beijing’s military vessels continue to patrol and confront Philippine ships within the country’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.
The East Asian country also commented on Manila’s recent joint military exercise ALON (Amphibious and Land Operations) with Australia, Canada, and the US in Palawan on the West Philippine Sea, saying countries should not involve themselves in territorial disputes between China and the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Vietnam, another claimant in the region, has increased construction of artificial islands in the disputed Spratly territories west of Palawan.
American researchers said that Vietnam’s expansion had created roughly 70 percent as much artificial land as China in the Spratlys as of last March, putting it on track to match or possibly exceed Beijing’s scale of island-building activities across the archipelago.
