US Inks Deal For 4 More Philippines Bases To Counter Chinese Expansion Around Taiwan, South China Sea: Report

The US has has signed a pact with the Philippines to gain access to four more military bases, offering a strategic location to monitor China's activities in the South China Sea and around Taiwan.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III (L) shakes hands with his Philippine counterpart Carlito Galvez Jr. at a joint press conference in Camp Aguinaldo military headquarters in metro Manila on February 2, 2023.

Source : AFP

The US has secured access to four more military bases in the Philippines, offering a strategic location to monitor China's activities in the South China Sea and around Taiwan. The deal expands Washington's arc of alliances from South Korea and Japan in the north to Australia in the south, reported BBC.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III was in Manila on Thursday to secure the deal.

The Philippines, which borders Taiwan and the South China Sea, had been the missing link in the chain. Gregory B Poling, director of the Southeast Asia programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that there is no contingency in the South China Sea that doesn't require access to the Philippines. "The US is not looking for permanent bases. It's about places, not bases," he was quoted as saying by BBC.

The US already had limited access to five sites under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), but the new additions and expanded access will allow for quicker support in humanitarian and environmental disasters and respond to other shared challenges, likely in reference to countering China in the region.

China criticized the agreement, calling it a threat to regional peace and stability. The US is seeking access to places where light and flexible operations can be run as needed, rather than permanent bases with large numbers of troops stationed. This marks a departure from the 1980s, when the Philippines was home to 15,000 US troops and two large military bases in Asia at Clark Field and Subic Bay. In 1991, the Philippine government asked the Americans to leave, but with China's increased military power and presence in the South China Sea, the Philippines cannot deter China alone and has sought an alliance with the US.

The US's return to the Philippines was met with opposition from left-wing groups due to the alleged history of violence and abuse by US troops in the country. Although there won't be as many troops as before, the US is asking for access to several new locations, some facing the South China Sea and others facing north towards Taiwan.

The aim is to deter China's territorial expansion in the South China Sea while also providing a place for the US to monitor China's military movements around Taiwan. The Philippines is buying BrahMos missiles from India to boost its defence, but it has no way to deter China without the alliance with the US.