Manila, Feb 2, (dpa/GNA) – The United States will get more military access in the Philippines, under a new deal announced on Thursday, during the visit of US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, who stressed the need for stronger ties to counter China’s aggression in the region.
In a joint statement, Manila and Washington said they have agreed to add four sites located in “strategic areas” to the 2014 enhanced defence cooperation agreement (EDCA), which currently allows US troops to rotate through five military bases in the Philippines.
“Expansion of the EDCA will make our alliance stronger and more resilient, and will accelerate modernization of our combined military capabilities,” the statement said.
“The addition of these new EDCA locations will allow more rapid support for humanitarian and climate-related disasters in the Philippines, and respond to other shared challenges,” it added.
China have already expressed their discontent about the agreement.
A Beijing Foreign Ministry spokesperson called the deal a threat to “regional peace and stability” shortly after its announcement.
The US has a “selfish agenda,” said the spokesperson, which would lead to an escalation of tensions. Other states in the region should “remain vigilant” and not allow themselves to be exploited by the US, she said.
The agreement was announced as Austin, affirmed the strong relationship between the US and the Philippines during a meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and other top government officials.
“We do have a strong relationship, and my goal, and certainly President [Joe] Biden’s goal, is to strengthen that relationship in every way possible,” the US defence secretary told Marcos Jr.
“You are a key ally, an important ally, and so from the defence perspective, we will continue to work together with our great partners to build and modernize your capabilities, as well as increase our interoperability.”
Austin said Washington is “grateful” for the decision to add sites, where the US can temporarily base troops for training and build additional facilities, saying these steps were part of “efforts to modernize [the] alliance” between the Philippines and America.
“And these efforts are especially important as China, continues to advance its illegitimate claims in the West Philippine Sea,” he added, referring to the South China Sea.
Philippine Defence Secretary Carlito Galvez, said the government was still finalizing consultations with local government units and communities, before it can announce the new sites, which he said were in areas “very vulnerable to climate change.”
Galvez also declined to confirm that the new locations were military bases, noting it was best to call them “EDCA sites”.
Philippine officials earlier noted that potential EDCA sites, include the northern province of Cagayan, which is close to Taiwan, and the western provinces of Palawan and Zambales, which face the disputed South China Sea.
The US has allocated over $82 million to build up infrastructure at the existing five sites – military bases in Palawan and four northern, central and southern provinces – such as runway repairs and construction of warehouses for weapons storage and disaster response.
The Philippines is the longest defence treaty ally of the US in the region, but diplomatic ties deteriorated under the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte, over alleged human rights abuses amid his war on drugs and his close ties with China.
Since his election in 2022, Marcos Jr has worked to repair the relationship.
On Thursday, the Philippine president reiterated that he believes that the future of the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific region, “will always have to involve the United States.”
GNA