(Manila) The United States and the Philippines on Thursday unveiled an agreement allowing American soldiers access to four additional bases in the Southeast Asian country which seeks, like its longtime ally, to counter the rise in China’s military power.
Washington and Manila agreed to extend an existing agreement to include four new sites “in strategic regions of the country” as US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited the Philippines.
“The Philippines and the United States are proud to announce their plans to accelerate the full implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the decision to designate four new agreed sites in strategic regions of the country,” U.S. and Filipino officials said in a joint statement.
Talks were underway over a possible fifth base, a senior Filipino official told AFP earlier.
The two countries have been security allies for several decades, including through a 2014 defense treaty and pact, known by the acronym EDCA, which allows US soldiers access to five Philippine bases, but also to store military equipment and materials there.
With this new announcement, the United States will have access to at least nine military bases in the Philippines.
This announcement comes as the states seek to strengthen their ties with Manila, which have been strained in recent years. Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had preferred to turn to China to the detriment of Washington, a former colonizer of the Philippines, but the new government of Ferdinand Marcos Jr wanted to reverse this.
The reaffirmation of Beijing’s position with regard to Taiwan and the construction of Chinese bases in the South China Sea have pushed Washington and Manila to strengthen their partnership.
Given the proximity to Taiwan and its neighboring waters, cooperation from the Philippines would be key in the event of a conflict with Beijing. A four-star US Air Force general recently predicted that such a clash could occur as early as 2025.