Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday there has only been ‘marginal’ use of Philippine bases accessible to the U.S. military due to land issues.
Treaty allies the Philippines and the United States have a 12-year-old Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement that allows a rotational presence of American military in Philippine bases without establishing a permanent presence. In 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expanded the number of bases that the U.S. can use to nine, including areas that face Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Balikatan Military Exercise
Teodoro, however, said the development of these sites has been marred by delays and noted that some of the bases do not have an air force presence.
“The use of the EDCA sites has been marginal because some of these, we still have to settle the land and tenurial issues,” Teodoro told broadcaster ABS-CBN in an interview.
“The delay has been difficult. We’re slow on project execution,” he added, without identifying specific bases where delays have occurred.
The disclosure comes on the heels of annual military exercises between the Philippine and U.S. militaries. The April 20 to May 8 exercises, called “Balikatan” or “shoulder-to-shoulder”, will be the largest yet with other participants including New Zealand, Canada, Japan, France and Australia.
Fuel Depot
South China Morning Post reported a few days ago that the United States is planning a fuel depot in the southern Philippines to support humanitarian and maritime security missions, as part of a growing network of forward-based refuelling hubs in the Western Pacific.
The depot is located far from the flashpoint reefs at the centre of Manila’s maritime dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea and marks a “more mature and more serious stage” in the US-Philippine alliance – a shift from base access and drills towards the grinding business of keeping forces fueled, dispersed and in the field for the long haul, reported the SCMP.
(with inputs from Reuters)
