The Philippines has identified four new sites that will give the US greater military access under a defense agreement, with three of them near Taiwan and a fourth close to the disputed South China Sea as tensions with Beijing continue.
(Bloomberg) — The Philippines has identified four new sites that will give the US greater military access under a defense agreement, with three of them near Taiwan and a fourth close to the disputed South China Sea as tensions with Beijing continue.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the main goal for the four extra sites is “to defend the country’s eastern coast,” according to a statement from his communications office released Monday. Marcos spoke with local government officials who were not keen on hosting US forces and explained the importance of these locations under the two countries’ Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, or EDCA.
The sites include a naval base and an airport in Cagayan province, a military camp in Isabela province – all near Taiwan – and Balabac Island in Palawan province near the South China Sea.
The EDCA sites would not be American military bases and would be used as storage and warehouse facilities for military logistics, Department of National Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said in the statement.
The new locations will bring the total number of military sites the US can access in the Philippines to nine, including five existing ones, under EDCA signed in 2014. The pact allows the US to rotate its troops for prolonged stays as well as build and operate facilities on those bases in the Southeast Asian country.
The US won access to the additional sites in February amid continued tensions with Beijing over Taiwan and the South China Sea. China has criticized the plan, with its embassy in Manila describing it as part of US’ attempt to “encircle and contain” Beijing.
Marcos has been bolstering his nation’s longstanding defense alliance with the US that was strained under his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte. The Philippines and the US are scheduled to hold their largest-ever military exercises starting next week. They are also planning joint patrols in the South China Sea and their top defense officials and diplomats are set to meet in Washington mid-April.
–With assistance from Cecilia Yap and Andreo Calonzo.
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