MANILA – The Philippines and the United States agreed to expand the access for American troops and equipment to four more Philippine military bases amid rising tensions in the South China Sea and Taiwan’s fraught relations with Beijing.
The Philippines granted the US greater access to its military bases following the visit of US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, who went to Manila on Tuesday night after travelling from South Korea. He was due to leave the Philippines by Thursday evening.
Mr Austin met Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Defence Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr and other top government officials during his three-day visit.
On Wednesday, he also visited about 100 American soldiers stationed at a military camp in Zamboanga City, in the southern Philippines. They are helping Philippine troops fight remnants of militant groups linked to the Islamic State in
Iraq and Syria. The Philippines and the US said on Thursday that they would be accelerating the full implementation of the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) by designating four additional Philippine military bases as part of the military deal.
Signed in 2014, the EDCA allows US forces to construct facilities, bring in equipment and hold joint training exercises in mutually agreed upon bases in the Philippines.
This story is from the February 03, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the February 03, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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