Fourth Stop:

Subic Bay,

the Philippines

In 1996, Subic Bay in the Philippines hosted the fourth APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, a milestone that formalized APEC’s cooperation model — characterized by voluntary, consensus-based decision making — called for greater emphasis on economic and technical cooperation, and formally integrated the private sector into APEC’s work.

Subic Bay is situated in southwestern Luzon, facing the South China Sea to the south, and lying approximately 100 kilometers northwest of Manila. The bay extends 14 kilometers in length and 8-13 kilometers in width, with depths of 24 to 50 meters, offering a natural deep-water port and sheltered anchorage. Once home to a major U.S. military base, the area was successfully redeveloped into a modern commercial and industrial freeport after the U.S. forces departed in 1991.