New naval base to be established in Philippines' Catanduanes province

The Governor of Catanduanes province in the Philippines has approved the establishment of a new Philippine Navy base in the province's northern municipality of Bagamanoc.

Governor-elect Patrick Azanza told local newspaper The Manila Times that the base to be established on Bagamanoc's Panay Island would be used by naval, ground and air assets and would be, "a big boost to [the Philippines'] national security."

Navy Flag Officer in-Command Vice Admiral Jose Ambrosio Ezpeleta said the new facility would serve as a forward operating base to enable monitoring of activity within the Benham Rise and other critical areas in Eastern Philippine waters.

Ezpeleta told reporters that Catanduanes is the nearest land area available from where the navy could monitor the Benham Rise and the country's eastern waters in general.

In addition to the naval base, new surveillance systems including a radar station will be put up on Panay Island. These facilities will be installed on the site once occupied by a long-range navigation station complex that had been operated by the US Coast Guard from 1960 to 1972.