The Philippines on Monday located four new military bases that the US will gain access to in an expanded defense deal that analysts say is aimed at countering China.

Three bases are located on the main island of Luzon, near Taiwan, and one in Palawan province in the South China Sea (SCS). The region provides Manila with an additional buffer against a regional dispute over the strategically important South China Sea.

#Philippines reveals the location of 4 new strategic sites for the US military pact – now a total of 9 bases

3 locations near Taiwan, 1 location near #South China Sea

Map 4 new locations on the left and 5 current locations on the right https://t.co/qEQ0lGCm9K pic.twitter.com/VqZ32SARO5

– Indo-Pacific News – Geopolitics & Military News (@IndoPac_Info) April 4, 2023

The “Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA)” between the United States and the Philippines was originally signed in 2014. According to a joint statement, the U.S. has allocated more than $82 million to improve infrastructure at five bases that its military already had access to.

The agreement guarantees US military access to military bases in the Philippines, provides for joint training, the transfer of equipment and the construction of infrastructure such as airstrips, fuel storage and materials. However, the American military presence is not permanent.

Pivot to the US following Duterte

Former President Rodrigo Duterte, whose daughter is now the country’s vice president, maintained cordial relations with China and Russia, even threatening to sever relations with the US, expel the US military from his country, and unilaterally withdraw from defense agreements between the two countries. states.

Although President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had a difficult relationship with the US due to a court ruling against him and his mother for contempt of court for failing to compensate victims of his father’s human rights abuses, his tenure so far appears to be shifting into Washington. .

The Philippines was home to the largest US naval base in the Pacific and one of the largest air bases in Asia. The bases were closed in the early 1990s by decision of the Senate of the island nation.

The Philippines and other ASEAN member states such as Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan are at enmity with China over possession of islets in the South China Sea. The Marcos administration hopes that the restoration of normal relations with Washington will scare Beijing away from any claims in the strategically important region.

Source: CNN, Reuters.