Close to Taiwan, the Philippines grants US wider access to military bases

In another act of strategic containment of the Chinese assertions in the Indo-Pacific, the United States and the Philippines announced a deal on Thursday to give US troops access to another four bases in the Southeast Asian nation. The agreement to expand cooperation in "strategic areas of the country" came into being during a visit by the US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The announcement came as the United States reopened its embassy in the Solomon Islands after closing it in 1993 as one of its acts of strategic significance in the Indo-Pacific, in the immediate aftermath of the end of cold war.

Philippine defence secretary Carlito Galvez told reporters the location of the new sites would be made public after local communities and officials had been consulted.
However, multiple reports suggest that most of the locations are on the main island of Luzon -- the closest Philippine landmass to Taiwan -- where the United States already has access to two bases.

ALSO WATCH |The Philippines grants US wider access to its military bases

Add WION as a Preferred Source

The move is also being seen as the Phillipines' strategic realignment towards the US, an area that markedmany downs during previous president Rodrigo Duterte's tenure. The new administration of Ferdinand Marcos has been keen to reverse that.

Beijing's growing assertiveness on Taiwan and its building of bases in the disputed South China Sea have given fresh reasons to Washington and Manila to strengthen their partnership.

ALSO READ |No Bolsonaro or Duterte: Number of populist leaders at a 20-year low

The four new locations bring the total number of sites accessible to US forces to nine, Austin told reporters on Thursday.

Talks were ongoing for a potential 10th site, a senior Philippine official told AFP.

The United States and the Philippines have a decades-old security alliance that includes a mutual defence treaty and the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which allows US troops to rotate through five Philippine bases, including those near disputed waters. It also allows the US military to store defence equipment and supplies on those bases.

US-Philippines take on China's 'illegitimate claims'

Lloyd Austin said the allies were committed to "strengthening our mutual capacities to resist armed attack", as he accused China of making "illegitimate claims in the West Philippine Sea". Manila refers to waters immediately west of the country as the West Philippine Sea.

Beijing responded Thursday, saying Washington was aggravating the "regional tensions" by continuously strengthening its military deployment.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.