INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Navy is seeking 13 more naval forward operating bases (FOB) nationwide, in addition to their initial proposal of 15, in view of the increasing tensions in the West Philippine Sea and recent presence of Chinese vessels in Benham Rise.
Captain Emilio Orio Jr., assistant chief of Naval Staff for Plans, made the revelation during Wednesday’s hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones.
Orio noted that this proposal is in line with the archipelagic sea lanes bill and the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept of the Department of National Defense.
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“We had a workshop with the Navy and after the determinations of the compliance of these two specific strategic documents, we decided to increase the number of FOBs from the 15 that we have submitted last meeting, to 28,” Orio said.
This figure surprised committee head Senator Francis Tolentino even as he noted that the country has not proclaimed or created additional military bases “in recent history.”
Tolentino then asked: “Do we have an imprimatur coming from the Department of National Defense?”
“This is at the Navy level still,” said chief of naval staff Rear Admiral Jose Maria Ambrosio Ezpeleta.
Tolentino filed in July 2022 the Senate Bill No. 654, or the Philippine Navy Archipelagic Defense Act.
The bill enumerates initial 12 possible sites, from the initial proposal of 15, where the bases may be established.
Under SB 654, FOBs refer to small-scale naval and military facilities or outposts where the Navy can carry out its basic functions and duties.
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This proposal comes as the resupply activity of BRP Sierra Madre, a Navy outpost grounded in the sandbank since 1999; as well as the humanitarian missions in Scarborough Shoal, become the flashpoints of tension between Manila and Beijing.
Beijing asserts sovereignty in the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea, even if such a claim has been effectively invalidated by a July 2016 international tribunal ruling that stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013.
Two Chinese research vessels were also spotted inside Benham Rise on March 3.
The 24-million-hectare undersea feature is part of the Philippine continental shelf and is inside the country’s exclusive economic zone.