Beijing yesterday warned that Washington was “endangering regional peace” in a new deal with the Philippines that would see four additional bases be used by US troops, including one near the disputed South China Sea and another not far from Taiwan.
“Out of self-interest, the US maintains a zero-sum mentality and continues to strengthen its military deployment in the region,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning (毛寧)
“The result will inevitably be increased military tension and endangering regional peace and stability,” she added.
Photo: AFP
Longtime treaty allies Manila and Washington in February agreed to expand cooperation in “strategic areas” of the Philippines as they seek to counter Beijing’s growing assertiveness over Taiwan and China’s construction of bases in the South China Sea, where China and the Philippines, along with Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam, have been locked in increasingly tense territorial disputes.
“That’s a trade route, that’s where more or less US$3 trillion worth of trade passes. Our responsibility in collectively securing that is huge,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Carlito Galvez Jr said.
The 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) gave US forces access to five Philippine bases.
It was later expanded to nine, but the locations of the four new bases were withheld until Monday, while the government consulted with local officials.
The four sites had been assessed by the Philippine military and deemed “suitable and mutually beneficial”, the Philippine Presidential Communications Office said in a statement on Monday.
The US Department of Defense confirmed that the locations announced were the four new EDCA sites.
It also said in a statement it would add to the “US$82 million we have already allocated toward infrastructure investments at the existing EDCA sites,” without specifying by how much.
Three of the sites are in the northern Philippines, including a naval base and airport in Cagayan province and an army camp in the neighboring province of Isabela, Manila’s statement said.
The naval base at Cagayan’s Santa Ana is about 400km from Taiwan. Another site would be an air base on Balabac Island, off the southern tip of Palawan Island, near the South China Sea.
Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba has publicly opposed having EDCA sites in his province for fear of jeopardizing Chinese investment and becoming a target in a conflict over Taiwan.
Galvez told reporters recently the government had already decided on the sites and that Mamba had agreed to “abide with the decision.”
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s office said the sites are “suitable and mutually beneficial,” and would “boost the disaster response of the country” as a springboard for humanitarian and relief work during emergencies.
The agreement allows US troops to rotate through the bases and also store defense equipment and supplies.
The locations “will strengthen the interoperability of the U.S. and Philippine Armed Forces and allow us to respond more seamlessly together to address a range of shared challenges in the Indo-Pacific region,” the US defense department said in a statement.
Additional reporting by AP
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