The Philippine Navy will build naval bases as part of modernization efforts to boost maritime domain awareness and rapid response capabilities, while strengthening Philippine-United States defense cooperation amid security challenges posed by China.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced plans for the bases during the Navy’s 127th anniversary in May 2025. “More than just acquiring new equipment, this modernization is also about empowering the Philippine Navy with the necessary skills, knowledge, tools and sustainment that would safeguard our nation’s interest,” he said. “These efforts form part of our strategy to bolster our national defense.”
According to Marcos, the project includes Naval Station Nabasan in Subic Bay and Naval Support Base in Misamis Oriental, in the southern region of Mindanao. Subic Bay previously served as a longtime U.S. naval base. The Misamis Oriental facility will replace Sangley Point in Cavite, another former U.S. naval facility.
“The facility in Subic has historically and currently supported foreign navies, be it in terms of port visits, participation in naval exercises or in maritime cooperative activities or joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea,” Rommel Jude Ong, a retired Philippine Navy rear admiral and a professor at the Ateneo School of Government in Quezon City, told FORUM.
The West Philippine Sea refers to the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea. Security partners including Australia, Japan and the U.S. have conducted joint patrols with the Philippines in those waters, where China Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels frequently harass Philippine civilian and military boats lawfully operating within Manila’s internationally recognized EEZ.
According to Ong, the planned base in Subic likely will replace a facility the Navy has been leasing in a former shipyard. The Subic base will serve as a staging point for naval operations in the northern part of the West Philippine Sea.
The Misamis Oriental facility will help secure eastern Mindanao, particularly the strategic Surigao Strait, which provides transit to and from the Pacific Ocean, Ong said. “Because of urbanization and the establishment of a new air facility in Sangley, the current base is no longer viable for supporting fleet forces,” he said.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said in November 2024 that the Misamis naval base could complement air operations at Lumbia Air Base during natural disasters. Under the treaty allies’ Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, the air base is among nine Philippine locations to which U.S. forces have access for missions such as disaster response.
According to the Philippine Navy, the new bases will enhance force projection and bolster area-denial capabilities by providing the ability to potentially restrict access to vital sea lanes.
“The Philippines’ decision to open new naval bases in Subic Bay and Mindanao significantly fortifies its defense posture while directly strengthening the Philippines-U.S. defense cooperation,” the Navy stated. The move “is noteworthy as it coincides with the growing tensions in the South China Sea and the Philippines’ pursuit of modernization.”
