Phl, US announce 4 new EDCA areas
MANILA — The Philippines and the United States have agreed to expand its military partnership by designating four new sites “in strategic areas” under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
The agreement allows US military to access facilities in Philippine military bases and camps.
“The EDCA is a key pillar of the US-Philippines alliance, which supports combined training, exercises, and interoperability between our forces,” a joint statement between the US Department of Defense and the Philippine Department of National Defense read.
“Expansion of the EDCA will make our alliance stronger and more resilient, and will accelerate modernization of our combined military capabilities.”
It added that the addition of new EDCA locations “will allow more rapid support for humanitarian and climaterelated disasters in the Philippines, and respond to other shared challenges.”
This comes as US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in the Philippines to strengthen the alliance of Washington’s oldest military ally in Asia. Austin is the latest to step foot in Manila for a string of highlevel engagements between Manila and Washington, which included visits from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Vice President Kamala Harris last year.
Austin first visited Camp Navarro in Mindanao “to highlight the consistency and the interoperability of the US-Philippine alliance,” a senior US defense official was quoted saying in a department article, noting that Washington extended efforts to maintain stability in southern Philippines.
There are five existing sites identified under EDCA – namely in Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Nueva Ecija, Palawan and Pampanga – and Defense officials from both Manila and Washington have agreed to expedite the completion of its existing projects. The US has provided over $82 million for the development of infrastructure in the five sites.
The four new EDCA locations have yet to be named. A Philippine official earlier told Agence France-Presse that negotiations are ongoing for a fifth site.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. explained that they first need to coordinate with local government units and local communities before establishing the sites.
“We are making some inspections on how we will do things, particularly that these areas identified are very vulnerable to climate change,” Galvez said in a joint press briefing on Thursday afternoon.
Austin also clarified that the US is not “seeking permanent basing in the Philippines.”
“EDCA is a cooperation agreement that enables rotational activities and so it’s a key pillar of training and opportunities where we can strengthen our interoperability and it also provides us the ability to respond effectively to humanitarian issues,” he said. Opposing new EDCA sites
BAYAN Secretary General Nato Reyes opposed the EDCA expansion, calling on lawmakers at the Senate to review the agreement, viewing it as a response to the geopolitical issue concerning Taiwan. Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last year sparked tensions with China, as Beijing viewed it as a “serious violation” of the OneChina principle.
Pelosi was the highestranked elected US official to step foot in Taiwan in over two decades. Her visit triggered China to conduct its biggestever military exercises around the self-governing island.
“Filipinos must not allow our country to be used as staging ground for any US military intervention in the region,” Reyes said. “Allowing US use of our facilities will drag us into this conflict which is not aligned with our national interests.” —