U.S. Said Ready to Phase Out Military Bases in Philippines

The Bush Administration is ready to begin phasing out U.S. military bases in the Philippines, acknowledging for the first time that the end of the Cold War has lessened the need for the facilities, sources said Thursday.

With negotiations on the bases scheduled to begin Tuesday in Manila, U.S. negotiators will seek a phase-out period that could last up to 10 years. That would be followed by continued military access to the facilities, perhaps on a commercial basis, after the last American forces depart, according to officials familiar with the U.S. negotiating stance.

The officials said the United States will not propose a definite timetable for departing from the facilities--Clark Air Base in Angeles City, Subic Bay Naval Station in Olongapo and four smaller installations. Instead, they said, the U.S. negotiating panel will stress the need for a gradual withdrawal to allow sufficient time for the Philippine government to prepare alternative plans for the bases and to cushion what is expected to be another adverse blow to the Philippine economy.

The bases have become an irritant in U.S.-Philippine relations under the government of President Corazon Aquino, as a vocal nationalist minority has stepped up demands for their removal. Opponents see them as the last vestige of U.S. domination of a former colony, and an infringement on Philippine sovereignty.

In Manila, Philippine Communists on Thursday urged Aquino to open peace talks to end one of Asia’s oldest insurgencies after an indefinite limited truce began in Manila and northern parts of the country. The future of U.S. military bases in the Philippines is one of the issues that should be discussed, the Communist-led National Democratic Front (NDF) said.