Philippine defence chief Carlito Galvez shakes hands with US air force secretary Frank Kendall III at Basa Air Base in Pampanga Province.
The EDCA, signed in 2014 under US president Barack Obama, allows US access to Philippine bases for joint training, pre-positioning of equipment and building of facilities such as runways, fuel storage and military housing, but it is not a permanent presence. Defence chief Carlito Galvez called the sites “very strategic” and stressed the Philippines had a responsibility to the international community in the South China Sea.“Our responsibility to collectively secure that is huge.”The decision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to expand the US access was made in February but the announcement of the sites was delayed by opposition from some local government leaders concerned about being caught up in a future conflict between the US and China.
“Their locations are in areas where they are needed,” said Jay Batongbacal, a South China Sea expert at the University of the Philippines.