US, Philippines agree to larger American military presence - The Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States and the Philippines connected Thursday announced plans to grow America’s subject beingness successful the Southeast Asian nation, with entree to 4 much bases arsenic they question to deter China’s progressively aggressive actions toward Taiwan and successful the disputed South China Sea.

The statement was reached arsenic U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was successful the state for talks astir deploying U.S. forces and weapons successful much Philippine subject camps.

In a associated announcement by the Philippines and the U.S., the 2 said they had decided to accelerate the afloat implementation of their alleged Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which aims to enactment combined training, exercises and interoperability.

As portion of the agreement, the U.S. has allocated $82 cardinal toward infrastructure improvements astatine 5 existent EDCA sites, and grow its subject beingness to 4 caller sites successful “strategic areas of the country,” according to the statement.

Austin arrived successful the Philippines connected Tuesday from South Korea, wherever helium said the U.S. would summation its deployment of precocious weapons specified arsenic combatant jets and bombers to the Korean Peninsula to bolster associated grooming with South Korean forces successful effect to North Korea’s increasing atomic threat.

In the Philippines, Washington’s oldest pact state successful Asia and a cardinal beforehand successful the U.S. conflict against terrorism, Austin visited confederate Zamboanga metropolis and met Filipino generals and a tiny contingent of U.S. counterterrorism forces based successful a section subject camp, determination Philippine subject commandant Lt. Gen. Roy Galido said. The much than 100 U.S. subject unit person provided quality and combat proposal for years to Filipino troops battling a decades-long Muslim insurgency, which has considerably eased but remains a cardinal threat.

More recently, U.S. forces person intensified and broadened joint grooming focusing connected combat readiness and catastrophe effect with Filipino troops connected the nation’s occidental coast, which faces the South China Sea, and successful its bluish Luzon portion crossed the oversea from the Taiwan Strait.

American forces were granted entree to 5 Philippine subject camps, wherever they could rotate indefinitely nether the 2014 EDCA defence pact.

In October, the U.S. sought entree for a larger fig of its forces and weapons successful an further 5 subject camps, mostly successful the north. That petition would beryllium precocious connected the docket successful Austin’s meetings, according to Philippine officials.

“The sojourn of Secretary Austin definitely, evidently volition person to bash with galore of the ongoing discussions connected the EDCA sites,” Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Romualdez said astatine a quality briefing.

Austin was scheduled to clasp talks Thursday with his Philippine counterpart, Carlito Galvez Jr., and National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano, Romualdez said. Austin volition separately telephone connected President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took bureau successful June and has since taken steps to boost relations with Washington.

The U.S. defence main is the latest elder authoritative to sojourn the Philippines aft Vice President Kamala Harris in November successful a motion of warming ties aft a strained play nether Marcos’s predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte had nurtured cozy ties with China and Russia and astatine 1 constituent threatened to sever ties with Washington, footwear visiting American forces retired and abrogate a large defence pact.

Romualdez said the Philippines needed to cooperate with Washington to deter immoderate escalation of tensions betwixt China and self-ruled Taiwan — not lone due to the fact that of the pact confederation but to assistance forestall a large conflict.

“We’re successful a Catch-22 situation. If China makes a determination connected Taiwan militarily, we’ll beryllium affected — and each ASEAN region, but mostly us, Japan and South Korea,” Romualdez told The Associated Press, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the 10-nation determination bloc that includes the Philippines.

The Philippines and ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam, on with Taiwan, person been locked successful progressively tense territorial disputes with China successful the South China Sea. The U.S. has been regarded arsenic a important counterweight to China successful the portion and has pledged to travel to the defence of the Philippines if Filipino forces, ships oregon craft travel nether onslaught successful the contested waters.

The Philippines utilized to big 2 of the largest U.S. Navy and Air Force bases extracurricular the American mainland. The bases were unopen down successful the aboriginal 1990s aft the Philippine Senate rejected an extension, but American forces returned for large-scale combat exercises with Filipino troops nether a 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement.

The Philippine Constitution prohibits the imperishable basing of overseas troops and their engagement successful section combat.