What a US-funded port on a Philippine island near Taiwan means for cross-strait tensions

The port in Batanes could facilitate rapid troop deployment and serve as a transit point for supplies and evacuated Filipinos in the event of a conflict

Regardless of Taiwan, analysts say the shift to a more robust defence policy will allow Manila to better monitor its maritime borders in peacetime

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Philippine Air Force jet fighters join the maritime patrol of the Philippines and the United States over Batanes and areas in the West Philippine Sea in November 2023. Photo: Philippine Air Force via AP

Published: 8:00am, 18 Mar 2024Updated: 2:10pm, 18 Mar 2024

A proposed Philippine port in Batanes, sitting astride the strategic Luzon Strait, would be of high geopolitical importance to both Washington and Manila with or without a Taiwan conflict, according to analysts.

In peacetime, the US-funded port would allow Manila to better monitor its northern maritime borders, while in the event of a conflict, it could serve as a strategic transit point for the transport of supplies and evacuation of Filipino nationals.

In an interview at a Philippine Navy event on March 9, Batanes Governor Marilou Cayco revealed that plans were under way to construct a US-funded civilian port in the Philippines’ northernmost archipelagic province that faces the channel separating the country from Taiwan.

Cayco said a US Army detachment would arrive in late April to further discuss the new facility in the province.

Located less than 200km from Taiwan, Batanes holds strategic significance in the event of a cross-strait conflict. Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise it as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force.

The proposed port follows months of confrontations between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, with Beijing deploying coastguard ships and other non-military vessels to try to force Philippine boats off of contested areas.

Felix Chang, a senior fellow at the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute think tank, stressed the geopolitical importance of a port in Batanes capable of providing fuel and services to multiple large vessels.

What a US-funded port on a Philippine island near Taiwan means for cross-strait tensions

The port in Batanes could facilitate rapid troop deployment and serve as a transit point for supplies and evacuated Filipinos in the event of a conflict Regardless of Taiwan, analysts say the shift to a more robust defence policy will allow Manila to better monitor its maritime borders in peacetime