The Marcos regime’s rushed construction of a runway and military facility at Balabac island for use of US military forces is a gross display of subservience to its imperialist master. The US plans to use this southernmost island of Palawan as a military base to preposition its weapons and troops, in line with its strategy to contain the growth of its imperialist rival China.

It is an outrage that Marcos spent ₱170 million of the Filipino people’s money to construct a military base for the US. This is a grievous affront on the Filipino people who are suffering from high prices, low wages and burdensome taxes.

The claims of the US-Marcos regime that the US military facility will serve the purpose of “defending the West Philippine Sea” are hollow and false. Marcos’ push to complete the construction contrasts with his own declaration to “deescalate” tensions with China. The presence of US military forces and weapons in the Philippines serves no other purposes but that of the war-obsessed US war machine.