Philippines to accelerate U.S. defense deal on base access

Philippines to accelerate U.S. defense deal on base access

MANILA — The Philippines on Tuesday said it will speed up the implementation of a defense agreement that allows U.S. troops to rotate for extended periods and access local military bases.

Manila is also in talks with Washington regarding additional sites to be covered under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, including areas near Taiwan and the disputed South China Sea.

“The Department is committed to accelerate the implementation of the EDCA by concluding infrastructure enhancement and repair projects, developing new infrastructure projects at existing EDCA locations, and exploring new locations that will build a more credible mutual defense posture,” the Department of National Defense said in a statement.

It added that $66.5 million has been earmarked to implement EDCA projects in agreed locations starting next year, including runway repairs and construction of warehouses for training as well as for humanitarian and disaster response.

Signed in 2014, amid increased tensions in the South China Sea, EDCA was aimed at advancing the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty between the U.S. and the Philippines through increased interoperability between both countries’ militaries.

But its implementation faced delays under former President Rodrigo Duterte, who forged closer ties with China. Duterte was critical of the EDCA and once threatened to terminate the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement, which facilitates the entry of U.S. troops into the Philippines

Duterte’s successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has sought to reinvigorate ties with Washington, while pledging an “independent” foreign policy.

The latest development on EDCA comes as the U.S and China are locked in a strategic competition in the region. Washington opposes a change of status quo on self-governing Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory that could be retaken by force if necessary. Tensions surrounding Taiwan was a key issue during a summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali on Monday ahead of the G-20 summit.

Washington has also raised alarm over China’s land reclamation and militarization in the disputed South China Sea, parts of which are also claimed by the Philippines. The U.S. has said an attack on Philippine armed forces in the disputed waterway will trigger Washington’s response under the 1951 treaty.

“[The EDCA] is not accelerated because of the Taiwan issue,” defense department spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said by phone. “We are not building this to counter or target any other countries.”

EDCA covers five agreed military bases, but Philippines and U.S. are discussing new sites, including ones in the northern province of Cagayan, near Taiwan, and in the western provinces of Palawan and Zambales, which face the disputed South China Sea, according to Andolong.

On Monday, acting Defense Secretary Jose Faustino Jr. said EDCA was discussed during a meeting in Hawaii in September.

“There were some additional EDCA sites being considered, but it still has to go through a process,” Faustino, a former military chief, told reporters.

Faustino said military bases covered by EDCA are owned and operated by the Philippine military and stressed that foreign military bases are not allowed under the Philippine constitution.

Additional reporting by Ella Hermonio