This map illustrates the different ways and forms by which the United States has established its military basing in the Philippines. It shows the locations of the increasing number of military exercises the US has been holding year-round in venues throughout the country from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi since 2001. It also charts the growing number of ports that an increasing number of US warships have been visiting. It highlights the under-reported presence of a unit of US Special Operations Forces that has been stationed continuously and indefinitely in various camps throughout Mindanao, with its headquarters inside the Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City, since 2002.
With the US and Philippine governments attempting to downplay their actions in the country, the map makes visible the true scale and extent of US military presence in the country today.
The map accompanies Focus on the Global South’s recent report, At the Door of All the East: The Philippines in United States Military Strategy, which explains how the US is transforming its presence in the Philippines in a way that seeks to heighten its capacity for intervention within the country and in the region.
The map is now available online for free to download
The PDF file of the report, At the Door of All the East: The Philippines in United States Military Strategy, may also be downloaded for free from: www.focusweb.org/at-the-door-of-all-the-east.pdf
Focus can also send the actual printed map (size: 15.5 x 24 inches) by post upon request. Libraries, educational institutions, social movements, and civil society organizations will be prioritized. To request for the map, please e-mail [email protected] explaining your organization’s profile.
