U.S. military’s presence is expanding in Philippines
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines said Thursday that it was allowing U.S. forces to broaden their footprint in the Southeast Asian nation, the latest Biden administration move strengthening an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to better counter China, including in any future confrontation over Taiwan.
Thursday's agreement, which gives U.S. forces access to four more military camps, was announced during a visit by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. He has led efforts to reinforce regional security partnerships and update the arming and positioning of American and allied forces in Asia in the face of China's increasing military strength and its assertiveness regarding its claims to Taiwan and in the South China Sea.
“It's a big deal,” Austin said, while noting the agreement did not mean the re-establishment of permanent American bases in the Philippines.
In a televised news conference with his Philippine counterpart, Carlito Galvez Jr., Austin gave assurances of U.S. military support and said the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, which obligates the U.S. and the Philippines to help defend each other in major conflicts, “applies to armed attacks on either of our armed forces, public vessels or aircraft anywhere in the South China Sea.”
American leaders have long sought to reorient U.S. foreign policy to better reflect the rise of China as a significant military and economic competitor, as well as to better deal with the lasting threat from North Korea.
The announcement from the Philippines follows Austin's announcement with South Korean leaders Tuesday that the U.S. would be sending more fighter jets and bombers, and his Jan. 11 declaration with Japanese counterparts that the U.S. would be shifting its deployment there to make for a more nimble fighting force.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswomen Mao Ning said the U.S. military's strengthening in the region was escalating tensions and risking peace and stability. “Regional countries need to remain vigilant and avoid being coerced or used by the U.S.,” Mao said at a daily briefing.
U.S. and Philippine officials also said that “substantial” progress has been made in projects at five Philippine military bases. Construction of American facilities at those bases has been underway for years but has been hampered by unspecified local issues.
Austin thanked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., whom he briefly met in Manila, for allowing the U.S. military to broaden its presence in the Philippines.
“I have always said that it seems to me that the future of the Philippines and for that matter the Asia-Pacific will always have to involve the United States simply because those partnerships are so strong,” Marcos told Austin.
A few dozen leftist activities held a noisy protest Thursday and set a mock U.S. flag ablaze outside the main military camp where Austin held talks with his Philippine counterpart. Leftist groups and nationalists have resented and often protested against the U.S. military presence in this former American colony.