CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / [email protected]
U.S. Navy crew members stand on a vessel for the media with the Yosemite Trader and a tug boat visible as it began its voyage to the Philippines from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Dec. 20.
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER. COM
The Yosemite Trader was the last tanker filled with fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility site to leave Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Dec. 20.
The U.S. military’s continuing efforts to defuel and ultimately close the underground Red Hill fuel storage facility have sparked an unexpected controversy all the way in the Philippines as the Pentagon grapples with how to supply its forces in the Pacific.
Just before Christmas, the commanders greeted the
departure of the Yosemite Trader, a publicity ship carrying Red Hill’s last cargo of “usable” fuel, as she departed Pearl Harbor bound for Subic Bay.
The Philippine port is one of several locations the U. S. military uses to redistribute more than 104 million gallons of stored fuel. in tanks only a hundred feet high
A critical aquifer for most of the world’s
Honolulu depends on its drinking water.
But as the holiday drew to a close, Philippine Senator Imee Marcos issued a statement on Jan. 10 accusing the U. S. and Philippine governments of a lack of transparency regarding the shipment. A day later, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority told Philippine media that the Yosemite merchant had rescinded its application to enter Subic Bay.
Commander Matthieu Comer,
a U. S. spokesperson. U. S. The Indo-Pacific Command told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that “the delivery of fuel shipped from Red Hill to Subic Bay has been delayed due to the country’s diplomatic authorization. “On Friday, January 19, diplomatic clearance was obtained and the shipment unloaded fuel in Subic Bay before setting sail again. “
But the wave of protests surrounding the fuel delivery has sparked scattered protests in the Philippines.
In a statement to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the group Stop the War Coalition Philippines said that “aside from health and environmental repercussions, the security risk is posed by who will ultimately use it, what they will use it for, and who will be responsible for securing it, we are talking about massive amounts of dangerous, combustible substances. We demand answers, accountability and transparency in this matter that will impact the public.”
Marcos, who helped stir up the controversy, is the older sister of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and chair of the Philippine Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Both brothers were living in Hawaii when their father, Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. , was overthrown in 1986 and went into exile in Honolulu.
Lately, Marcos Jr. has been trying to maintain relations with the U. S. military as tensions rise between the Philippines and China. Manila and Beijing are locked in a series of disputes over maritime and navigational territorial rights. In 2016, a foreign court ruled in favor of the Philippines, declaring that China’s territorial claims had “no legal basis. “
But Beijing has stepped up its efforts, with the Chinese military building bases on disputed islands and reefs, and now targeting and harassing Filipino fishermen and other maritime workers. In 2023, the Philippines signed an agreement with the Pentagon that allowed the U. S. military access to several bases in the country to purchase aircraft and conduct operations.
The fact that Imee Marcos is harshly critical of the fuel measure while her brother tries to tighten the alliance has surprised some. Marcos’ circle of relatives has worked intensively together, protecting his wealth and striving to rebuild his reputation in the country as he returns in force.
But Patricio Abinales, a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa who specializes in the Philippines, said the breakup is no wonder, calling it “purely political. “
“The sister has been marginalized in the brother’s inner circle since he assumed the presidency,” Abinales said. “I am and still am close to former President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte. President Marcos’ closest advisers are his cousin, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and First Lady Lisa Araneta.
Marcos Jr. ran for office in 2022 on a crusading platform that promised to continue many of Duterte’s policies, strengthen ties with China and rethink relations with the United States. The Marcos and Duterte families have worked a lot together.
But in recent months, the Marcos-Duterte alliance has begun to unravel as the two families prepare for upcoming elections. The Philippine parliament recently slashed Sara Duterte’s mammoth “confidential funds” budget, and some lawmakers close to Marcos have signaled a willingness to allow the International Court of Justice to prosecute Duterte’s father for human rights abuses resulting from the brutal drug war he introduced in 2016. that killed up to 11,000 people.
During his presidential crusade, Marcos promoted
He befriended Chinese officials during the talks and argued that he could negotiate better with the Chinese government, and even recommended overturning the 2016 court ruling. But Chinese forces also continued to aggressively harass Philippine ships, despite early friendly overtures from Marcos.
The attacks have reinforced anti-China sentiments in the Philippines and prompted the Marcos leadership to take a much tougher stance toward Beijing as it now seeks closer cooperation with the United States.
During a stopover in Hawaii in November, Marcos said in a speech in Waikiki that “the scenario is more terrible than before. The nearest reefs that they (the Chinese military) began to take an interest in, slowly employing those atolls and sandbars to build bases. . . They are getting closer and closer to the Philippine coast. And the closest is now about 60 nautical miles off the nearest Philippine coast.
The Dutertes have publicly criticized Marcos personally for his pro-U.S. shift, accusing him of being an American lackey.
Marcos’ family hails from the Philippine province of Ilocos Norte, where much of Hawaii’s Filipino population comes from. Abinales said he suspected it helped motivate Marcos’ decision to insist on the fuel transfer factor in Red Hill.
“Imee needs to be part of the central drama, and the only way to do that is to raise issues like the U. S. Navy’s fuel tanker,” Abinales said. Hawaii had to alert him. The Question
Who are these other people in the gigantic Ilocano network in Honolulu?»
For years, the Navy insisted that Red Hill was important to national security. But in November 2021, fuel from the facility infected the Navy’s water formula on Oahu, which supplies 93,000 people, including service members, military families and civilians living in former military areas. Army accommodation.
The Pentagon announced in March 2022 that it would close Red Hill, and military officials said they would implement a new “distributed” strategy for storing fuel at points in the region, as well as “afloat” on board. Oil. After insisting for years that they may not get their forces without Red Hill, the military’s more sensible top brass now say the new plan will make home lines more “resilient” and give commanders more flexibility.
The Pentagon rented several tanker trucks to evacuate fuel from Red Hill. In addition to Subic Bay, they transported fuel to the West Oahu facility controlled through Island Energy Services at Campbell Industrial Park, to a fuel storage point in San Diego and to Singapore. .
In her statement on the fuel delivery to the Philippines, Imee Marcos accused the Philippine military of “inexplicable silence” and noted that Subic Bay — which was a U.S. Navy base until the Philippine government ordered it closed in 1992 after
a disagreement over leasing costs — is not among the facilities the U.S. military can use to pre-position forces or equipment under the 2023 agreement.
But the Philippine military responded that there was “nothing to explain on the fuel shipment.” Spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar told Filipino reporters that “the process that was followed by the U.S. government, these are all administrative in nature and did not involve the participation of the armed forces.”
Abinales said the political dispute between the Marcos and Duterte families is unlikely to lead to significant disruptions in the U. S. -Philippines alliance.
“The two militaries have a long and close relationship, and they have even survived Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-American and pro-China stance,” Abinales said. “(Duterte) insulted the U. S. a lot in his time, but Rodrigo never managed to get the Philippine military reoriented toward China and moved away (from the U. S. ). His generals stood firm and quietly legalized the continuation of U. S. -Philippine Army exercises.
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