US gets more access to bases
MANILA: The United States and the Philippines announced a deal yesterday to give US troops access to another four bases in the Southeast Asian nation, as the longtime allies seek to counter China’s military rise.
The agreement to expand cooperation in “strategic areas of the country” was made during a visit by US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
It comes as the countries seek to repair ties that were fractured in recent years — previous Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte favoured China over his country’s former colonial master, 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 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 fourstar 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 Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the agreement to designate four new Agreed Locations in strategic areas of the country,” defence officials said in a joint statement.
Talks were ongoing for a potential fifth base, a senior Philippine official told AFP earlier.
The two countries have a decadesold security alliance that includes a mutual defence 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 defence equipment and supplies on those bases.
The EDCA stalled under Mr Duterte, but Mr Marcos has sought to accelerate its implementation.
Under its expansion, the United States will have access to at least nine military bases across the archipelago.
The new sites have not been publicly identified, but it has been widely reported that most of the new bases will be on the main island of Luzon — the closest Philippine landmass to Taiwan — where the US already has access to two locations.
The fourth will reportedly be on the western island of Palawan, facing the Spratly Islands in the hotly contested South China Sea, taking the number of sites there to two.
Ahead of the announcement, Mr Austin met Mr Marcos at the presidential palace, where the Pentagon chief described the Philippines as a “key” US ally.
Mr Austin said the United States would continue to help “build and modernise” the Philippine military’s capability and increase interoperability between their forces.
The United States is also seeking to strengthen alliances with other nations, including its Aukus partnership with Australia and Britain.