US Western Pacific geostrategy: Subic Bay before and after withdrawal

The changing status of US naval cityports in the Western Pacific is examined during the Korean War (1950–1953), the Second Indochina War (1963–1975), the confrontation with the Soviets (1979–1989) and the Gulf War (1990–1991) in order to encompass shifts in technology, global resource economics and political rivalries. Attention is centred on the contribution of the naval cityport of Subic Bay in the Philippines in achieving US geostrategic goals. The economic and social consequences for the locality of such intensive defence development are discussed. Then there is an appraisal of the economic plans, potential and progress, and political issues involved in the transformation of the naval cityport into a freeport city since the withdrawal of the US in 1992.