The United States and the Philippines announced a deal Thursday to give US troops access to four more local military bases.
The agreement to expand cooperation in “strategic areas of the country” was made during a visit by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin 3rd.
It comes as the countries seek to repair ties that were fractured in recent years — previous president Rodrigo Duterte favored China over the US, but the new administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been keen to reverse that.
Beijing’s growing assertiveness on Taiwan and its building of bases in the disputed South China Sea have also given fresh impetus to Washington and Manila to strengthen their partnership.
Given its proximity to Taiwan and its surrounding waters, the Philippines’ cooperation would be key in the event of a conflict with China, which a four-star US Air Force general has warned could happen as early as 2025.
“The Philippines and the United States are proud to announce their plans to accelerate the full implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the agreement to designate four new Agreed Locations in strategic areas of the country,” defense officials said in a joint statement.
Talks were ongoing for a potential fifth base, a senior Philippine official said.
The two countries have a decades-old security alliance that includes a mutual defense treaty and the 2014 EDCA pact, which allows US troops to rotate through five Philippine bases, including those near disputed waters.
It also allows the US military to store defense equipment and supplies on those bases.
The EDCA stalled under Duterte, but Marcos has sought to accelerate its implementation.
Under its expansion, the United States will have access to at least nine military bases.
Ahead of the announcement, Austin met Marcos at Malacañang, where the Pentagon chief described the Philippines as a “key” US ally.
In a joint press briefing with Austin in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said the two governments agreed that the new locations will be identified after they have consulted with the communities where the bases are located.
The two countries said the new locations will also allow faster response to humanitarian and climate-related disasters in the Philippines.
The US government has allowed $82 million to build infrastructure at the existing five sites under the EDCA.
The EDCA is a supplemental agreement to the previous Visiting Forces Agreement. It was signed on April 28, 2014.
The agreement allows for US forces and contractors to operate out of the “agreed locations.” The agreement hands over operational control of the sites to the US, and allows US forces to pre-position and store defense materiel, equipment and supplies. The agreement excludes nuclear weapons.
Galvez said the Philippines and the US “strongly oppose any unilateral action or attempt to disrupt current world order, and share the same views that all countries should resolve any issue peacefully and adhere to international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
Meanwhile, Austin said his meeting with Galvez “underscores the importance that both of our countries place on this relationship.” “We discussed concrete actions to address destabilizing activities in the waters surrounding the Philippines including the West Philippine Sea. We remain committed to strengthening our mutual capacities to resist armed attack,” Austin added.
He stressed that the EDCA is part of an effort to modernize the Philippine-US alliance as China continues to pursue its claims in the West Philippine Sea.
Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said the EDCA is not directed toward any country.
Interviewed by The Manila Times on Thursday, Romualdez said the EDCA is for the Philippines’ interest.
“I don’t think it’s really directed, at least from the way we look at it, directed towards any country, but more for our own defense and security but at the same time, also helps us in being more prepared for any disaster that comes our way, which is already being increased each time,” he said.
Romualdez said Washington has always supported the Philippines in defending against China’s aggressive efforts to claim most of the South China Sea.
“Well, they’ve always supported us, they support our win with the arbitral award and I think the visit of Secretary Austin will emphasize that,” he said.
“We should not take foreign allies like the United States for granted,” he said. “But at the same time, we should continue to reach out to other countries, which is what [former] president [Rodrigo] Duterte wanted to impart.” The US embassy in the Philippines said the alliance between Washington and Manila has stood the test of time and remains “ironclad.” “We look forward to the opportunities these new [EDCA] sites will create to expand our cooperation together,” the embassy said in a statement on Thursday.
“Expansion of the EDCA will make our alliance stronger and more resilient, and will accelerate modernization of our combined military capabilities,” the embassy said. Asked to comment on the new four EDCA sites, the Chinese Embassy in Manila simply said, “Copy.”
WITH AGENCE-FRANCE PRESSE AND ARIC JOHN SY CUA
