The return of the Americans follows a deal hammered out with the Philippine military last spring. The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement grew out of concern here over China’s spread into waters just off the coast here, and China’s claim over more than 80 percent of the South China Sea that extends far below the Chinese mainland.
In Olangapo today, a city of 220,000, enthusiasm is strong for a US return. That’s due not only to the perceived China threat, but also because the Philippine armed forces, not the Pentagon, will govern the sprawling old base with new rules designed to curb off duty behavior.
After World War II, Subic gained prominence as the largest US naval facility in the Pacific, cherished for its deep water, sheltered spots to anchor ships, and elaborate repair infrastructure.
Yet during the heyday of Subic, US naval personnel gained notoriety for helping turn the area into a zone of hostess bars and prostitution that fostered local crime.
Now, the returning military must stay on approved parts of the base, which has added a well-groomed Harbor Point shopping mall with cinemas and some 200 stores including Starbucks, TGI Friday’s, and eventually Gold’s Gym. A midnight to 5 a.m. curfew will be enforced around the base.
To short-circuit charges of a new form of colonialism, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, a local governing body, is authorizing Philippine forces to oversee the former base and its returning inhabitants in segments of 15 years. [The Christian Science Monitor]
The US turned the areas off-base into a “zone of hostess bars and prostitution that fostered local crime”? You mean there were no Philippine citizens involved?
I’m thinking the “well-groomed Harbor Point shopping mall with cinemas and some 200 stores including Starbucks, TGI Friday’s, and eventually Gold’s Gym” are more indicative of American culture than the previous debauchery. I mean, who’s staffing the juicy bars outside Osan now?
setnaffa
9 years ago
And yes, I do realize it was American dollars that supported the bars then and now. And I am not advocating for prohibition: folks have to learn from their own mistakes. I’m just saying it wasn’t a one-way street…
Pops
9 years ago
Asinine writing in this article. So, the citizens of Olongapo (not Olangapo) were eager to see the US leave, rid themselves of the “ugly Americans”, but are eager for the ugly Americans to return if they are under Philippine military control? Oxymoronic. The resentment of the USD the writer describes sounds like a lefty talking point. Agree with Setnaffa’s points.
The US turned the areas off-base into a “zone of hostess bars and prostitution that fostered local crime”? You mean there were no Philippine citizens involved?
I’m thinking the “well-groomed Harbor Point shopping mall with cinemas and some 200 stores including Starbucks, TGI Friday’s, and eventually Gold’s Gym” are more indicative of American culture than the previous debauchery. I mean, who’s staffing the juicy bars outside Osan now?
And yes, I do realize it was American dollars that supported the bars then and now. And I am not advocating for prohibition: folks have to learn from their own mistakes. I’m just saying it wasn’t a one-way street…
Asinine writing in this article. So, the citizens of Olongapo (not Olangapo) were eager to see the US leave, rid themselves of the “ugly Americans”, but are eager for the ugly Americans to return if they are under Philippine military control? Oxymoronic. The resentment of the USD the writer describes sounds like a lefty talking point. Agree with Setnaffa’s points.