I am a thief!

[Wanderer]

As has been said before, it's not 'infinite' supplies. It's enough for the station itself to function indefinitely, not to supply entire fleets. Bases don't need engine fuel (the main use of supplies) and they could be supplied with top-ups of food/air/water etc. by the 'invisible merchant ships' that carry resources around the game.

If players had to keep resupplying bases themselvs, there would be complaints and the AI would struggle.

It would be nice if there was a really good mechanism set up for dealing with bases and supply - it makes sense to want to build a large remote base that can act as a fueling station for task forces. As it is, I think the current situation is a decent compromise.