US-Philippines infrastructure deal exposes colonial legacies and geopolitical chess in South China Sea
Original framing: “Why US is backing Philippine airport at former Sangley Point naval base” — South China Morning Post
The US has maintained military bases in the Philippines since 1898, with Sangley Point serving as a key naval facility during WWII. The 1947 Military Bases Agreement formalized US control, and its 1992 termination led to base closures—only for the Visiting Forces Agreement (1998) to reintroduce rotational US troops. This project mirrors Cold War-era infrastructure deals, now repackaged as 'development' to justify permanent access.
The Sangley Point deal is not merely a geopolitical maneuver but a microcosm of neocolonial extraction, where US military-industrial interests repurpose colonial legacies as 'development' to justify permanent access to the South China Sea.
Historical parallels to 1947’s Military Bases Agreement reveal a pattern of US bases returning under new guises, while indigenous and marginalised voices are systematically excluded from decision-making, echoing patterns from Mindanao to Guam. The project’s environmental and climate risks are ignored, despite Manila Bay’s precarious state, suggesting a short-term profit logic over long-term resilience. Yet, alternative futures exist: Philippine-led green infrastructure, ASEAN non-aligned frameworks, and debt-for-climate swaps could break this cycle, but only if marginalised communities and non-Western security models are centered. The trickster’s insight—that what is framed as progress is often domination—offers the clearest lens to see this deal for what it truly is: a land grab dressed as an airport.