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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider AFP sets up forward operating base in Batanes for territorial defense

AFP sets up forward operating base in Batanes for territorial defense

Published Aug 30, 2025 04:45 pm
The newly established forward operating base of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Mahatao, Batanes will host Philippine Navy and Philippine Marine Corps units under the Northern Luzon Naval Command and Marine Battalion Landing Team-10 (MBLT-10). (Photo: Northern Luzon Command/AFP)
The newly established forward operating base of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Mahatao, Batanes will host Philippine Navy and Philippine Marine Corps units under the Northern Luzon Naval Command and Marine Battalion Landing Team-10 (MBLT-10). (Photo: Northern Luzon Command/AFP)
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has established a forward operating base (FOB) in Mahatao, Batanes to boost territorial defense and enhance capabilities for humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) in the country's northernmost frontier, a military spokesperson said Saturday, Aug. 30.
Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, AFP spokesperson for West Philippine Sea (WPS), said the new facility gives the military a strategic foothold that allows troops to deploy, sustain operations, and project presence in the Luzon Strait, a vital waterway linking the WPS and the Pacific.
“This provides a foothold or a base where we can position our forces and project our presence. This means we are now more capable of securing and protecting the maritime domain,” he said at a news forum in Quezon City.
He noted that the initiative was anchored on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 2023 policy directive, shifting the AFP’s focus from internal security operations to external defense.
He emphasized that Marcos is the first Commander-in-Chief to issue a clear policy pronouncement on this shift, paving the way for the implementation of a Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC).
Under this concept, the AFP seeks to protect the country’s maritime entitlements all the way to its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), recognizing that the future of the nation is tied to the security of its seas.
“Our forces need to have wider coverage. Why? Because our country’s future is tied to our maritime entitlements. The new forward operating base in Mahatao, Batanes will give us the capability to secure and protect what is ours in the maritime domain, extending beyond what we currently have,” he stated.
Located in the coastal town of Mahatao, approximately 12.9 kilometers from the Batanes' capital town of Basco, the base will host Philippine Navy and Philippine Marine Corps units under the Northern Luzon Naval Command and Marine Battalion Landing Team-10 (MBLT-10).
The units are tasked with securing the Batanes Strait, monitoring maritime activities, and supporting interagency operations. Its establishment ensures closer collaboration between Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) and the local government unit in sustaining peace, security, and disaster response in the island province.
 “This partnership with the local government shows how national defense and local governance work hand in hand for the protection of our people,” said Lt. Gen. Fernyl G. Buca, Nolcom commander.
Buca said that Batanes holds strategic value as the closest Philippine province to Taiwan.
Batanes sits less than 200 kilometers from Taiwan, a self-ruled island but considered a renegade province by China. Batanes also serves as a gateway to both the WPS and the Philippine Sea.
China has intensified military activities around Taiwan, conducting near-daily incursions and drills that have raised fears of a possible invasion by force.
The AFP previously underscored that any escalation in the Taiwan Strait could directly impact the Philippines, given its geographic proximity and defense commitments under the Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States, and placing at risk the lives of an estimated 160,000 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) living or working there.

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