Subic Bay: The Last Five Years has USCINCPAC Strategy Changed?
Abstract
Almost five years have passed since the United States vacated its military bases at Subic Bay, Philippines. USCINCPAC not only changed its paradigm for conducting day to day operations in the Western Pacific, but was faced with reviewing its strategy in East Asia. For decades, the United States military relied on the Philippine bases for logistics support, ship and aircraft maintenance and critical training to maintain combat readiness. The loss of the bases forced USCINCPAC to look elsewhere in the region for similar support for its forward deployed forces. The expulsion of the United States from the Philippines also raised security and regional stability concerns among East Asian countries. The presence of the United States in the Philippines provided the assurance that East Asian states required to maintain the balance of power in the region. As witnessed these past five years, China has emerged as a more aggressive and dominant regional power as shown by several key events. This paper will analyze four major events since the closure of the bases and its effect on stability and security relations in the area. The paper will further analyze USCINCPAC strategy, illustrate how it supports U.S. national objectives and determine if the loss of Subic Bay has changed its USCINCPAC Strategy in East Asia.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 19, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA328121
Entities
People
- Earl K. Hampton Jr
Organizations
- Naval War College