DEFENSE TIES. File photo of Filipino and US soldiers participating in a live fire exercise during the annual US-Philippines joint military exercise or Balikatan, in Crow Valley, Capas, Tarlac, on March 31, 2022.
Eloisa Lopez/Reuters
Identifying additional sites that US troops would be able to access was a key deliverable for the long-time allies
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines and the United States have agreed on four new local bases in the country where American troops will be allowed to build facilities and preposition defense assets, nearly nine years after both countries signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
Officials from the two countries made the announcement on Thursday, February 2, as US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited the Philippines for the first time under the Marcos administration.
“Today, the Philippines and the United States are proud to announce their plans to accelerate the full implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the agreement to designate four new Agreed Locations in strategic areas of the country and the substantial completion of the projects in the existing five Agreed Locations,” a joint readout said.
Details on the specific locations of new sites were not immediately available, but Philippine officials earlier said locations being considered for access included Philippine bases in Northern Luzon and Palawan, sites near Taiwan, and the West Philippine Sea.
The five new EDCA locations are in addition to sites previously identified in March 2016, including Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan; Basa Air Base in Pampanga; Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija; Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro; and, Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu.
The addition of new EDCA sites is the latest development after the two countries earlier agreed to strengthen military ties against the backdrop of rising tensions with China. During an official visit by US State Secretary Antony Blinken to the Philippines in August 2022, the long-time allies reaffirmed their “extraordinary” and “important” relationship that they said was crucial to addressing growing challenges in the region.
Experts and regional observers have been speculating in the past few months that the new EDCA sites would include bases located in Northern Luzon owing to the region’s proximity to Taiwan, which shares a sea border off the northern most part of the Philippines.
Following increased tensions in the Taiwan Strait last August 2022, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez, a cousin of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said that Manila would let US forces access its bases “if it is important for us, for our own security.”
‘Missing piece’
Analysts had viewed the implementation of EDCA as a “big deliverable” in Philippine-US defense ties, pointing to the deal as essential for both countries to live up to its commitments under the Mutual Defense Treaty, which sees both sides commit to defend one another in case of an attack.
The Biden administration has been optimistic that defense ties with the Philippines could expand, after a turnaround seen under the final months of the previous Duterte administration, as well as the openness of a new Marcos administration.
Like in the case of the Visiting Forces Agreement, former president Rodrigo Duterte had threatened to scrap EDCA early in his presidency, saying he did not want to see soldiers of “any foreign power” in the Philippines.
Despite this, Duterte later upheld EDCA in a meeting with then-US president Donald Trump in 2017, though its implementation remained slow with the construction of just one site that began in 2018.
In November last year, the Philippines’ Department of National Defense said the construction of projects in three more military bases was expected in 2023, after the US agreed to spend $66.5 million to start building training and warehouse facilities.
High on Austin’s agenda while in Manila was “speeding up” the implementation of EDCA. In a meeting with Marcos on Thursday morning, Austin continued to carry Washington’s message underscoring the Philippines as a “key” and “important ally for the US and that its relationship should be further strengthened.
“From the defense perspective, we will continue to work together with our great partners to build and modernize your capabilities,” he said. – Rappler.com
