AFP: New Batanes base key to defense strategy

STRATEGIC POSITIONING The Armed Forces of the Philippines inaugurated on Saturday a forward operating base in Batanes province, calling it a critical part of the country’s archipelagic defense strategy. The new base is located in Mahatao town, less than 185 kilometers (100 nautical miles) from Taiwan’s southernmost island —PHOTOS FROM AFP NORTHERN LUZON COMMAND

The Armed Forces of the Philippines’ newly inaugurated forward operating base in Batanes is a critical piece of the Philippines’ archipelagic defense strategy, military officials said on Saturday after the opening of its facility in Mahatao town in Batanes.

“The Mahatao Forward Operating Base strengthens our ability to defend the northern frontier and ensures that [the Northern Luzon Command, or Nolcom], together with the Province of Batanes, can respond swiftly to both security challenges and disasters,” said Nolcom commander, Lt. Gen. Fernyl Buca.

Northern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Fernyl Buca of the
Air Force (inset top photo, extreme right) and Batanes Gov. Ronald Aguto Jr. (in barong) lead the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Navy Rear. Adm. Roy Vincent, Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, echoed the sentiment in a news forum on Saturday and said the base would allow Philippine forces to “secure and protect what is ours in the maritime domain further than we have right now.”

“Our maritime entitlements are our future,” Trinidad said. “This base in Batanes gives us a foothold to project our presence and safeguard the northern frontier.”

The spokesperson stressed the facility’s strategic importance given its proximity—less than 100 nautical miles—to Taiwan’s southernmost island. He noted that any conflict in Taiwan would directly affect the Philippines, which hosts nearly 200,000 Filipino workers on the island.

BENEFICIAL MILITARY PRESENCE Armed Forces Northern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Fernyl Buca (right) and Navy Flag officer in command, Vice Adm. Jose Ma. Ambrosio Ezpeleta (left), hand over a memento of the Mahatao Forward Operating Base to Batanes Gov. Ronald Aguto Jr. —PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHERN LUZON COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE

‘Looking outward’

Trinidad said the Mahatao facility is part of a broader “comprehensive archipelagic defense concept” that also includes outlying islands in Tawi-Tawi and Palawan. “For a long time, the AFP was focused on internal security. Now, we are looking outward.”

The new military installation is located on Mahatao Island between Luzon and Itbayat Islands, but south of the Balintang Islands in the Balintang Channel, site of a maritime and diplomatic incident with Taiwan in 2013.

The Balintang Channel, called Bashi Channel by the Chinese and Taiwanese, is a part of the Luzon Straight that is claimed by both the Philippines and Taiwan.

In May 2013, a patrol vessel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) allegedly shot at and pursued a Taiwanese vessel that was found poaching in Philippine waters, resulting in the death of a Taiwanese fisher.

The Balintang Incident strained diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) for years, but was finally settled in 2019 when the Manila Regional Trial Court found eight PCG personnel guilty of homicide.

“Taiwan and the Philippines have long been important close neighbors. Today, the long-awaited justice in this shooting incident was served, but it was a hard and a bitter experience for both countries,” the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Manila said at the time.

The incident also resulted in a Fisheries Law Enforcement Agreement between Manila and Taipei in 2015 to boost mutual enforcement of fisheries laws, one of the topics of annual discussion between the two countries.

But more recently, Philippine authorities were alarmed by the unusual presence of three Chinese patrol vessels in the Balintang Channel.