Philippines grants U.S. greater access to bases amid China concerns - Reuters

MANILA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The Philippines has granted the United States expanded entree to its subject bases, their defence chiefs said connected Thursday, amid mounting interest implicit China's expanding assertiveness successful the disputed South China Sea and tensions implicit self-ruled Taiwan.

Washington would beryllium fixed entree to 4 much locations nether the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Philippines' Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez said successful a associated quality conference.

Austin, who was successful the Philippines for talks arsenic Washington seeks to widen its information options successful the state arsenic portion of efforts to deter immoderate determination by China against self-ruled Taiwan, described Manila's determination arsenic a "big deal" arsenic helium and his counterpart reaffirmed their committedness to bolstering their countries' alliance.

"Our confederation makes some of our democracies much unafraid and helps uphold a escaped and unfastened Indo-Pacific," said Austin, whose sojourn follows U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris's trip to the Philippines successful November, which included a halt astatine Palawan successful the South China Sea.

"We discussed factual actions to code destabilising activities successful the waters surrounding the Philippines, including the West Philippine Sea, and we stay committed to strengthening our communal capacities to defy equipped attack," Austin said.

"That's conscionable portion of our efforts to modernize our alliance. And these efforts are particularly important arsenic People's Republic of China continues to beforehand its illegitimate claims successful the West Philippine Sea," helium added.

The further locations nether the EDCA bring to 9 the fig of subject bases the United States would person entree to, and Washington had announced it was allocating much than $82 cardinal toward infrastructure investments astatine the existing sites.

The EDCA allows U.S. entree to Philippine subject bases for associated training, pre-positioning of instrumentality and the gathering of facilities specified arsenic runways, substance retention and subject housing, but not a imperishable presence.

Austin and Galvez did not accidental wherever the caller locations would be. The erstwhile Philippine subject main had said the United States had requested entree to bases connected the bluish onshore wide of Luzon, the closest portion of the Philippines to Taiwan, and connected the land of Palawan, facing the disputed Spratly Islands successful the South China Sea.

There was nary contiguous remark from the Chinese Embassy successful Manila.

Outside the subject headquarters, dozens of protesters opposed to the United States maintaining a subject beingness successful the state chanted anti-U.S. slogans and called for the EDCA to beryllium scrapped.

Before gathering his counterpart, Austin met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr astatine the statesmanlike palace connected Thursday, wherever helium assured the Southeast Asian leader, "we basal acceptable to assistance you successful immoderate mode we can".

Ties betwixt the United States and the Philippines, a erstwhile colony, were soured by predecessor Rodrigo Duterte's overtures towards China, his celebrated anti-U.S. rhetoric and threats to downgrade their subject ties.

But Marcos has met with U.S. President Joe Biden doubly since his landslide triumph successful the elections past twelvemonth and reiterated helium cannot spot a aboriginal for his state without its longtime pact ally.

"I person ever said, it seems to me, the aboriginal of the Philippines and for that substance the Asia Pacific volition ever person to impact the United States," Marcos told Austin.

Reporting by Karen Lema Editing by Ed Davies and Gerry Doyle

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