The Role of Strategic Outposts in American Global Leadership

On February 2^nd, 2023, American Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that four Philippines military bases have been made available to the Pentagon under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). The total number of EDCA locations in the Philippines now comes to nine. The United States will use the locations to base munitions, troops, and supplies. In terms of geostrategy, the bases are key locations to counter China in the South China Sea.

The Philippines is one of more than 80 countries with U.S. military bases on their territory. With over 750 bases around the globe, U.S. bases account for 75-85% of the world’s total foreign military bases. However, according to a report by NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice, there are only 20 countries in which the United States has engaged in armed conflict through ground forces, proxy forces, or airstrikes. All six service branches of the U.S. armed forces are present overseas. While the bases vary in size and capability, they each represent a key element of the military-industrial complex and serve America’s global leadership.

Michael C. Desch is Packey J. Dee Professor of International Relations at the University of Notre Dame. He is also the Brian and Jeannelle Brady Family Director of the Notre Dame International Security Center. He has been on staff for a U.S. Senator, in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the Department of State, as well as in the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division of the Congressional Research Service.

Professor Desch has produced countless analyses in international relations, American foreign policy, U.S. national security policy. He has given us his insight on American strategic outposts.

What determines a strategic location?

Geography is the biggest factor in determining a strategic location. It is integral that the location is in proximity to areas of the world that the United States regards as repeatedly vital. Three areas of interest are Western Europe, the Persian Gulf, and Western Pacific. We also have bases that support transit between the United States and Asia. Diego Garcia, a British territory in the Indian Ocean, is an example of this. Regions that acted as steppingstones during the Second World War, such as Guam, the Azores, Greenland, and Iceland, are also examples of strategic locations. Finally, we have bases in countries that we have close political relations with or that we want to influence. The Horn of Africa is an example of a region where the United States does not have direct interest, but has allies and wants to exert influence.

Does the geographic factor outweigh the political factor?

They can be related, but they can also be independent. U.S. bases in Africa are more about politics than geographic location. For the most part, Africa does not have bases close to areas that could materially affect the balance of power between the U.S. and another great power. Geographic and political factors are not mutually exclusive, but they do not always accompany one another.

What are countries getting from having U.S. military bases on their territory?

There are a number of potential gains. The most important factor is the increase in security. In the return of the United States to the Philippines, General Austin vamped the function of the current government in the Philippines regarding the growing spread from China in the South China Sea. Having U.S. military presence reminds people in the Duerte regime that their security has been enhanced. Some countries also derive some financial advantages from having a U.S. military presence. Whether through the direct bill of having a U.S military base, or through preferential foreign aid deals, the United States may give them reason to secure military bases.

With tensions rising in the Indo-Pacific, is there a territory where the presence of U.S. bases is crucial to counter China’s military offensive in the region?

I think that the Cold War U.S. basing structure in Japan and South Korea has been repurposed to deal with the rise of China. The Philippines, where we had bases since the Spanish American War, had asked us to leave at the end of the Cold War. The recent return is directly connected to their need for security against China. The United States is developing its military presence in Australia with both the presence of American forces and the submarine deal. This development is in response to the rise of China. Finally, there have been additional basing facilities in the island of Guam which is becoming a critical part of U.S. presence in the Western Pacific.

TAN

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