4 sites added under expanded defense pact
PRESIDENT Marcos Jr has approved four additional sites where the United States military may put up facilities for prepositioning of American troops and equipment, virtually allowing expanded or increased US presence in the country.
The Philippine and US defense departments, in a joint statement, announced the development while visiting US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Filipino counterpart, Carlito Galvez, were holding a meeting in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
The meeting came after Austin paid a courtesy call on the President in Malacañang.
Outside the military headquarters, dozens of protesters opposed to the United States maintaining a military presence in the country chanted anti-US slogans and called for the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) to be scrapped.
Austin, in a joint press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, said he and Galvez talked about the EDCA which was signed by the two countries in 2014.
The EDCA allows US access to Philippine military bases for joint training, pre-positioning of equipment and building of facilities such as runways, fuel storage and military housing, but not a permanent presence.
Its expansion came amid mounting concern over China’s increasing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea and tensions over self-ruled Taiwan.
China said greater US access to Philippine military bases undermined regional stability and raised tensions.
“This is an act that escalates tensions in the region and endangers regional peace and stability,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a regular briefing.
“Regional countries should remain vigilant about this and avoid being used by the US,” he said.
Under the EDCA, the US was allowed to put up facilities inside five Philippine military facilities — Basa Air Base in Pampanga, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro City, Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan, and Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu.
Austin and Galvez declined to give the four new EDCA site locations.
“We discussed expanding the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement which allows our forces to operate together more efficiently from key sites across the Philippines. We talked about how we are co-investing in EDCA sites to support security cooperation, combined training, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” said Austin.
Austin said the move will “make both our countries more secure.”
“And we are pleased to announce today that President Marcos has approved four new EDCA locations. That brings the total number of EDCA sites to nine. I’m grateful to President Marcos for this decision,” said Austin.
In November last year, the Armed Forces said theUS military has requested additional EDCA sites within AFP facilities — two in Cagayan, and one each in Palawan, Zambales and Isabela.
Austin described Manila’s decision as a “big deal” as he and Galvez reaffirmed their commitment to bolstering their countries’ alliance. The US official is visiting the Philippines as Washington seeks to extend its security options in the country as part of efforts to deter any move by China against self-ruled Taiwan.
Galvez said he and Austin agreed on the “full implementation” of the EDCA agreement “by completing the ongoing projects as well as the agreement to designate new sites where EDCA locations may be developed.”
NO PERMANENT BASING
Austin stressed that EDCA sites are not permanent US bases, noting these are just temporary facilities.
“I just wanna be clear that we are not seeking permanent basing in the Philippines. As you heard us say in our statements here, EDCA is a cooperative agreement that enables rotational activities,” said Austin.
“So it’s a key pillar of training and opportunities to strengthen our interoperability. It also provides us the ability to respond effectively to humanitarian issues and also disaster relief and other types of crisis, not just for the Philippines but for the regions we’re at,” said Austin.
EDCA allows the Americans to pursue — in the agreed sites — various activities, including training, transit, support, and related activities; refueling of aircraft; bunkering of vessels; temporary maintenance of vehicles, vessels, and aircraft; temporary accommodation of personnel; communications; prepositioning of equipment, supplies, and materiel; deploying of forces and materiel.
The agreement also allows the US to preposition and store defense equipment, supplies and materiel, including, but not limited to, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief equipment, supplies and materiel.
STRONGER ALLIANCE
The joint statement said the expansion of the EDCA “will make our alliance stronger and more resilient and will accelerate modernization of our combined military capabilities.”
“The addition of these new EDCA locations will allow more rapid support for humanitarian and climate-related disasters in the Philippines, and respond to other shared challenges,” it said.
The statement said the US has allocated over $82 million (about P4.4 billion) toward infrastructure investments at the five EDCA sites approved years ago and “is proud that these investments are supporting economic growth and job creation in local Philippine communities.”
“The United States and the Philippines have committed to move quickly in agreeing to the necessary plans and investments for the new and existing EDCA locations,” the statement also said.
It said the alliance of the two countries “has stood the test of time and remains ironclad.”
“We look forward to the opportunities these new sites will create to expand our cooperation together,” it added.
Galvez said Austin’s visit to the Philippines “signifies a strong bond and enduring partnership between the Philippines and the United States, particularly the areas of humanitarian assistance, economic development, and peace and security among others.”
“Herewith, the President said our relationship will become stronger and robust,” said Galvez.
He said Austin’s visit also mirrors US “steadfast commitment to help its allies in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
COLLABORATION
Galvez said he and Austin support the continued planning and conduct of “high-impact” and “high-value” activities, through the Mutual Defense Board-Security Board and other cooperative mechanisms of the two sides.
“Secretary Austin and I also agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation to support the Philippine defense capability needs as well as the Philippine-US alliance,” said Galvez.
“The bilateral meeting we had today will further strengthen our nation’s collaborative efforts in addressing present security threats within the region as well as effectively dealing with the natural disasters caused by climate change, a major global concern we need to confront head-on,” he said.
Also, he said the two sides will be working to maintain “stable, rules-based, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region along with partner countries.”
“We strongly oppose any unilateral action or attempt to disrupt current world order and share the same views that all countries should resolve any issue peacefully and adhere to international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS,” said Galvez.
Galvez said the efforts the two sides will be undertaking are “in line with the guidance of President Ferdinand Marcos, and that is for the defense department to make sure that not an inch of our nation’s territory will be lost and our people’s safety and security will be ensured by the strengthening of our diplomatic relations with our allies, preserve peace, and create a stable international environment in the Asia-Pacific region.”
US COMMITMENT
Austin reiterated that the US commitment to the defense of the Philippines is “ironclad.”
“And today, we discussed ways to make this vital alliance even stronger. We talked about enhancing our mutual defense posture and strengthening our commitments under our Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT),” he said.
He said the MDT applies to armed attacks on either armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the South China Sea or West Philippine Seas.
“We discussed concrete actions to address destabilizing activities in the waters surrounding the Philippines, including the West Philippine Sea. And we remain committed to strengthening our mutual capacities to resist armed attack,” said Austin.
“It’s just part of our efforts to modernize our alliance and these efforts are especially important as the People’s Republic of China continues to advance its illegitimate claims in the West Philippine Sea,” said Austin.
Austin’s visit follows US Vice President Kamala Harris’ trip to the Philippines in November, which included a stop at Palawan in the South China Sea. — With Reuters
