ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Philippines said it will soon announce the sites of at least four U.S. military bases in the country which is part of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between Washington and Manila as both countries prepare to hold joint war games in the South China Sea.
President Ferdinand Marcos also confirmed this information, saying the sites are located in northern and southern Philippines, including Palawan between the South China and Sulu seas.
“We’ll make a formal announcement. But yes they have been identified and we can already – before I announce it, we will formalize it with our partners in the United States so that sabay-sabay…hindi natin i-prempt ‘yung kanilang pinaplano,” he said, adding, “so there are four extra sites scattered around the Philippines. There are some in the North, there are some around Palawan, there are some further South. So iba-iba talaga.”
Marcos said the goal of the EDCA is to defend the country’s eastern coast, noting the Philippines’ continental shelf on Luzon’s eastern side was also put into consideration.
War games
His
statement came ahead of the joint Philippines-U.S. war games which Filipino
security officials claimed is the largest ever military exercises
as the longtime allies seek to counter China’s growing regional influence.
A total of
17,680 soldiers will take part in the annual drills, which for the first time
will include live-fire exercises in the disputed South China Sea and a
simulated defense of a tiny Philippine island nearly 300 kilometers (190 miles)
south of Taiwan.
The
countries will also stage an amphibious landing on the western island of
Palawan, the closest Philippine landmass to the Spratly Islands — a flashpoint for Beijing and
Manila.
“Any
armed forces has the right to conduct military exercises,” said Colonel Michael Logico, the Philippine spokesman for
the war games called Balikatan, which means “shoulder to
shoulder.” “It’s really part of our combat readiness,” he said.
The
announcement comes less than six weeks after Manila and Washington agreed to
restart joint patrols in the South China Sea, and
struck a deal to give U.S. troops access to another four military bases in the
Southeast Asian country.
The
countries have been seeking to repair ties that were fractured under Marcos‘s predecessor Rodrigo Duterte.
Beijing’s growing assertiveness on Taiwan and
its building of bases in the South China Sea have given fresh impetus to
Washington and Manila to strengthen their partnership, which is underpinned by
a mutual defense treaty.
The
exercises, scheduled for April 11-28, will involve more than 12,000 American,
nearly 5,000 Filipino and 111 Australian soldiers – about twice as many as last
year, Logico said.
A U.S.
official confirmed the figures. One of the drills will involve military
helicopters landing on Calayan island, off the northern tip of the main island
of Luzon. The maritime and coastal defense
drill has been held in the past, but this will be the first
time on Calayan. It will also be the first time Philippine and US navy frigates
will fire their weapons towards the South China Sea from waters off Zambales
province, north of Manila, Logico said.
Previous live-fire exercises were
held on land. The Americans will also use their Patriot missiles, considered
one of the best air defense systems in the world, and the HIMARS precision
rocket system during the drills.
The
Australian troops involved will mainly take part in “special operations” type
exercises, Logico said, while Japan will send an observer delegation. This is
the first Balikatan to be held since Marcos took power in June 2022.
Marcos
has insisted he will not let China trample on the Philippines’ maritime
rights – in contrast to Duterte who was reluctant to criticize
Beijing. Beijing claims sovereignty over
almost the entire South China Sea, including the Spratlys, ignoring an
international ruling that its claims have no legal basis.
The Philippines and
several other countries have rival claims. The US and Australian embassies in
Manila did not immediately comment on the exercises.
AFP
modernization
Last
February, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed to help the Philippines
modernize its defense capabilities as well as increase the interoperability of
American and Filipino military forces.
“From
defense perspective, we will continue to work together with our great partners
and to build and modernize your capabilities as well as increase our
interoperability,” Austin said during his visit to Manila.
Marcos
said he sees the future of the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific tied up with
the United States, citing the country’s and the region’s strong and historic
partnership with Washington.
“I have always said that it seems to me that the
future of the Philippines and, for that matter, the Asia Pacific will always
have to involve the United States simply because those partnerships are so
strong and so historically embedded in our common psyches that can only be an
advantage to both our countries,” Marcos said. (Mindanao Examiner, AFP,
The Defense Post)
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