Philippine and US officials said in a joint statement that Washington and Manila agreed to expand an existing agreement to include four new sites “in strategic areas of the country.”
The agreement was reached during a visit by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Manila, as the two countries seek to repair ties that were strained in recent years under former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who advocated a rapprochement with China, but the new administration of President Ferdinand Marcos appears keen about reversing this trend.
“The Philippines and the United States are proud to announce their plans to accelerate the full implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, by agreeing to identify four new agreed sites in strategic regions of the country,” the statement said.
Before the statement was released, a senior Philippine official told AFP that talks were underway on a possible fifth rule.
The two countries have a decades-old security alliance that includes a mutual defense agreement and an enhanced defense cooperation agreement signed in 2014 that allows US forces to be present in 5 Philippine bases, including those near disputed waters, and allows the US military to store defense equipment and supplies in these bases.
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