The Philippine government designated four new military bases, along with several near Taiwan, where alternating groups of US soldiers would be continuously deployed amid China's growing aggression.
The additional sites signify a broadening of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the two nations, giving the United States access to Filipino military facilities for joint training and hardware prepositioning.
Under the EDCA, the new military bases will be Naval Station Camilo Osias in Santa Ana, Cagayan; Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela; Balabac Island in Palawan; and Lal-lo Airport in Cagayan, as per NTD.
EDCA already covers the Pampanga Cesar Basa Air Base, the Fort Magsaysay Military Reserve, the Lumbia Air Base, the Antonio Bautista Air Base, and the Mactan Benito Ebuen Air Base.
Isabela and Cagayan face north, toward Taiwan, while Palawan is near the Spratly Islands, where China's governing Chinese Communist Party has constructed artificial islands with missile systems and military facilities.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s government said in February that the 2014 EDCA had approved an increase in the number of Philippine military bases from the five currently in use, per AP News.
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New US Military Bases in the Philippines
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said this would improve the Philippines' ability to defend its coastline. It complements the Biden administration's initiatives to fortify an Indo-Pacific arc of military cooperation to better fight China, particularly in any future conflict over Taiwan.
In the bustling and resource-rich South China Sea, China and the Philippines, together with Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan, have been embroiled in severe territorial conflicts.
While Washington makes no claims to the critical seas, ABC News reported that Beijing is upset because the US has sent warships, fighter jets, and spy planes on patrols that would advance navigational liberty and the legal system.
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