“Every battle is won before it’s ever fought.” ― Sun Tzu (544 BCE – 496 BCE)
If the U.S. bases were still in the Philippines after Marcos was ousted or after Mt. Pinatubo erupted, I doubt China or Vietnam or Malaysia or Taiwan would even dare occupy the Spratlys. So as far as China is concerned, Pres. Cory Aquino, the mother of Aquino III is the hero.
Excerpt: “Money was not an issue in the impasse. In recent years, Washington has pledged a certain amount in economic, military and housing assistance instead of paying yearly rent for American bases. In the fiscal year that ended in September, the Philippines received $408 million in connection with the bases, and the Subic Bay base has pumped more than $344 million a year into the country’s economy.”
The Philippines (Cory Aquino) told the United States today that it MUST withdraw from the Subic Bay naval base by the end of 1992 (when Cory Aquino is no longer president), ending a vast American military presence that began with the capture of the islands from Spain in 1898.
The decision, which resulted from an impasse in negotiations, follows a year of intense talks between the countries on the fate of American bases in the Philippines. The announcement also comes just three days before President Bush begins a 12-day Asian tour.
“Once it begins, it is an irreversible process,” a senior American official said today. “The bottom line is that we are gone.”
Pres. Cory Aquino Orders U.S. to Leave Strategic Navy Base at Subic Bay
By DAVID E. SANGER
Published: December 28, 1991
Report July 2013: Three Chinese mining companies have taken nickel ores from Sta. Cruz mountains some 90 miles north of the US Naval Base in Subic Bay. Aquino III has been working with China. His mother Cory Aquino planned the removal of U.S. bases in the Philippines and presence in the region when she visited her ancestral land, China on April 15, 1988. 