# Supreme Court Decision - EDCA with US is Constitutional



## pakawala (Sep 10, 2014)

Supreme Court upholds EDCA | News | GMA News Online


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

That is very, *VERY* good news..


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Jet Lag said:


> That is very, *VERY* good news..


I kind of agree, but will it just up the tension in the area. 

And what effect will it have on Subic and the expats living there. A friend of ours has said that he may be forced out of his condo in Subic by the US forces moving in.


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## 197649 (Jan 1, 2013)

Good in some aspects other no so much. Retirees possible jobs, PX ? 
For the right it will give them something protest about. Lets just hope the military folks dont get carried away.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Gary D said:


> I kind of agree, but will it just up the tension in the area.
> 
> And what effect will it have on Subic and the expats living there. A friend of ours has said that he may be forced out of his condo in Subic by the US forces moving in.


The tension is already here. Having the military there will only make that tension more visible I think.

Also, the Philippine military has been and still is acquiring much in the way of new equipment including but not limited to supersonic jet fighters. 
That alone is an accident and or provocative incident just waiting to happen.
The US will be operating in conjunction with the Philippine military and as such just might keep these turkeys in check and from starting a real war that they would have absolutely no hope of ever winning.

On Clark as well as Subic only certain areas will be opened to and used by the military. Warehouses, military housing etc would be built and not use existing facilities so housing for expats and others should be uneffected.

On both bases as well as others, there will naturally be areas that are off-limits but the bases are big with plenty of room for all.
Good and bad weighed side by side, I'd say the good far outweighs any bad or negatives. IMO, it is far better to have the US and other allied forces here than to have the Chinese take over completely. If that happened we'd all be looking for a new place to live-without are families that we have here!



Regards

Jet Lag


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## pakawala (Sep 10, 2014)

Gary D said:


> I kind of agree, but will it just up the tension in the area.


"Tension" could come in one of many forms, from one or more groups from within or from one or more Countries from afar. Time will tell. 

It may be good for security in terms of "The Big Picture" but may actually increase tension for the way Expats and Tourists are currently used to living here meaning we're currently looked at as Expats and Tourists because there is virtually no military presence at this time. Once thousands of DOD start flowing in we are viewed as "possibly" a part of that group. I may start letting my hair grow longer after today .

In the 80's, it got to the point where folks around the bases were actually wearing "don't shoot I'm Australian" T-Shirts for fear of being one of the targets of NPA Sparrow units. I missed being a target of major hit by 30 minutes and was close enough to hear the shots fired in a second separate hit when tensions were high in the 80s. 



Gary D said:


> And what effect will it have on Subic and the expats living there. A friend of ours has said that he may be forced out of his condo in Subic by the US forces moving in.


These are the 8 locations they were working before things came to a halt. Subic is not on the list but could end up being added. One can assume property around these areas is now being bought up for investment purposes such as housing.

U.S. negotiating to rotate troops to 8 Philippine bases

PH, US eye 8 military bases under EDCA | ABS-CBN News

Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija; 
Crow Valley in Tarlac; 
Basa Air Base in Pampanga; 
Naval Station San Miguel in Zambales; 
Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan; 
Naval Station Carlito Cunanan in Palawan; 
Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu; 
Naval Base Rafael Ramos in Cebu


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*Subic Base*



pakawala said:


> "Tension" could come in one of many forms, from one or more groups from within or from one or more Countries from afar. Time will tell.
> 
> In the 80's, it got to the point where folks around the bases were actually wearing "don't shoot I'm Australian" T-Shirts for fear of being one of the targets of NPA Sparrow units. I missed being a target of major hit by 30 minutes and was close enough to hear the shots fired in a second separate hit when tensions were high in the 80s.


I had to duck a couple times around Christmas of 1984, bullets flying past my head in the streets, was out the next day and doing it again, surprised that I wasn't stopped from leaving the base. 

Sure will be cool to have the Commissary and base exchange back again, that's what it sounds like to me.


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

time will tell.


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

its time usa takes care of their own.......let the others fend for themselves. History repeats itself.


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## galactic (Dec 2, 2014)

Good news indeed.

A friend in the Academy in Zambales told me that the US military is pre positioning in San Antonio in the area between the Phil.Merchant Marine Academy and the Naval Education Training Command.
Nice spot for them.

I just hope that they would brief these young sailors and marines to keep their pants on or at least stay out of trouble with regards to sex workers.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

lefties43332 said:


> its time usa takes care of their own.......let the others fend for themselves. History repeats itself.


That is exactly what they/we are doing; protecting ourselves. If China is unchallenged and allowed to take the whole of the South China Sea, the US and most of the rest of the world will forever lose the ability to ship goods through the area by sea and air. That's to say nothing of the economic loss to many countries as well as legitimizing their land grab for forward military bases..
The US and our allies are doing exactly the right, in fact the only right thing for starters.
As long as Obama is outa office before doo-doo hits the fan it might turn out alright.


Jet..


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

Jet Lag said:


> That is exactly what they/we are doing; protecting ourselves. If China is unchallenged and allowed to take the whole of the South China Sea, the US and most of the rest of the world will forever lose the ability to ship goods through the area by sea and air. That's to say nothing of the economic loss to many countries as well as legitimizing their land grab for forward military bases..
> The US and our allies are doing exactly the right, in fact the only right thing for starters.
> As long as Obama is outa office before doo-doo hits the fan it might turn out alright.
> 
> ...


i have to disagree respectfully....If and When thats a different story.....its all conjecture. Bring the money back to usa and let the other countries bear the burden. I for one am tired of paying my taxes to carry the corruption and lazy.


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

connection timed out on edit and didnt let me finish. I said in short we dont always have to be gatekeepers of the world. Its time the rest of the freeworld makes the big investments not just us.....keyword BIG......we are bankrupt,you cant rob peter to pay paul.


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## pijoe (Jul 21, 2015)

I would be surprised if they are let anywhere near the Crossing...


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## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

*A more cohesive approach required*



lefties43332 said:


> its time usa takes care of their own.......let the others fend for themselves. History repeats itself.





lefties43332 said:


> connection timed out on edit and didnt let me finish. I said in short we dont always have to be gatekeepers of the world. Its time the rest of the freeworld makes the big investments not just us.....keyword BIG......we are bankrupt,you cant rob peter to pay paul.





Jet Lag said:


> That is exactly what they/we are doing; protecting ourselves. If China is unchallenged and allowed to take the whole of the South China Sea, the US and most of the rest of the world will forever lose the ability to ship goods through the area by sea and air. That's to say nothing of the economic loss to many countries as well as legitimizing their land grab for forward military bases. The US and our allies are doing exactly the right, in fact the only right thing for starters......Jet..


Sorry lefties43332, I’m afraid I’m with Jet Lag on this one. Martin Niemoller’s poem, which some believe was written about 1945, is still valid today and describes very well what happens when we sit back and do nothing.

_First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me._

Having said that, I agree with some of your points that the USA shouldn’t always have to play ‘Gatekeeper’ as you put it, and that all countries need to take a much stronger and more cohesive role in world affairs, especially when it comes to standing up to China; the Philippines could never go it alone. Secondly, history does indeed repeat itself, but this is one of those occasions when I believe we all need to stand up to the aggressor.


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## GareBear (Jan 22, 2016)

I agree, perhaps this time things may change for the better.


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## esv1226 (Mar 13, 2014)

USA is the world leader. It needs to lead. It needs to be friends with other nations to keep its power and influence. If USA were a stand alone, it cannot be as powerful. In order for USA to be safe, it has to maintain peace among nations.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

esv1226 said:


> USA is the world leader. It needs to lead. It needs to be friends with other nations to keep its power and influence. If USA were a stand alone, it cannot be as powerful. In order for USA to be safe, it has to maintain peace among nations.


From a US perspective perhaps but from a non US point of view that may have been the case 20 years ago until the US lost its way and look where we are now.


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## GareBear (Jan 22, 2016)

Government contracts, could mean earning dollars in the Philippines.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

GareBear said:


> Government contracts, could mean earning dollars in the Philippines.


Could be but if so, I'd guess those positions would be in upper management and or supervisory areas. Time will tell.


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## JRB__NW (Apr 8, 2015)

lefties43332 said:


> connection timed out on edit and didnt let me finish. I said in short we dont always have to be gatekeepers of the world. Its time the rest of the freeworld makes the big investments not just us.....keyword BIG......we are bankrupt,you cant rob peter to pay paul.


I think there are places we can and should help, but we lost all credibility and a lot of our wealth when we went into the Middle East over a decade ago on that $3 Trillion dollar excursion that the world perceived (perhaps correctly) as being tied to oil. Trying to spread democracy and arbitrarily removing dictators leads to unintended consequences. I think because of that, Obama has used a lot of restraint in the Middle East, perhaps too much. Syria and Iraq have practically imploded and we're fighting a proxy war with Russia now, although thanks to the oil collapse they will soon be bankrupt, hopefully putting an end to that nonsense. 

Not sure what to think about this situation in the South China Sea, but I believe it was a Chinese, ironically, who said "may you live in interesting times" and we certainly are.


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## GareBear (Jan 22, 2016)

That's about the most sensible thing I have heard for awhile, good thought


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## pakawala (Sep 10, 2014)

*“agreed upon sites”*

“agreed upon sites” 

Palawan, 
Lumbia in Cagayan de Oro City
Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija
Basa Air Base in Pampanga
Cebu
Source:
US to construct 5 military facilities | The Manila Times Online


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