A new agreement between the United States and Philippines will see the US gaining access to four additional military bases in the latter country. The Philippines is strategically positioned in the South China Sea. It would be invaluable in the event of a conflict with China.
The agreement, announced on Thursday, was reached in terms of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), signed between the two countries in 2014. It was announced after a meeting between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The US said that its access ‘will allow more rapid support for humanitarian and climate-related disasters in the Philippines, and respond to other shared challenges.’
It did not pass unnoticed that enhanced access to the Philippines would solidify an arc of US-led alliances stretching from South Korea to Australia. In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, much attention has been directed at the possibility of a military crisis in East Asia, most likely in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
It is not clear where the bases would be, but there has been speculation that three of them might be on the island of Luzon, which is the closest large piece of land to Taiwan, aside from China.
China attacked the agreement, accusing the US of acting to ‘escalate regional tension and undermine regional peace and stability’.
[Photo: Jam Sta Rosa / Pool Photo]