SEN. Francis Tolentino, vice chairman of the committee on national defense and security, yesterday said China should not worry over the expansion of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites as the move is meant to strengthen the country’s defense posture and promote security in the Southeast Asian region.
In an interview with dzBB, Tolentino said China should respect Philippine sovereignty and it is the country’s right to allow the expansion of the EDCA sites within its own territory.
“If China really respects the Philippines’ sovereignty, I think there is no reason for a free country like the Philippines to do the right steps in strengthening our own defense posture, the right to defend ourselves,” Tolentino said in Filipino.
Early this month, the Philippines and the US agreed to expand its military partnership by designating four more sites in “strategic areas” under the EDCA which has earlier designated five sites. The agreement signed in 2014 allows US military to access facilities in Philippine military bases.
China, in a statement released after the US-PH agreement, said “cooperation between countries should be conducive to regional peace and stability, not target against any third party, even less to harm the interest of a third party.”
It accused the US of stepping up “military posture in this region” as it escalates tension in Southeast Asia.”
Tolentino said China should look at the expansion as a way of having regional peace and security in disputed areas in the South China Sea. “So, if we believe that they are our friends, and they us also as friends, they have nothing to fear because this is done to strengthen our defense posture and security in the whole region,” he added.
