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Access sought to eight Philippine military bases
[Gulf Today] The United States seeks access to at least eight Philippine military bases where it could deploy on a "rotational basis" sophisticated destroyers and bombers, a senior military official has confirmed.Armed Forces chief General Gregorio Pio Catapang said the U.S. formally submitted its request during a recent meeting of the Mutual Defense Board attended by representatives of both countries. He noted the request came during a period of military expansion by China. Of the eight bases, four are located on Luzon, two in Cebu province in the Visayas in Central Philippines and two on the island province of Palawan near the Spratly island group which is claimed in part or in whole by China as well as the Philippines and three of its fellow ASEAN members; Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam. Catapang said the Philippine government could not yet act on the American request pending a decision from the Supreme Court on several petitions that questioned the legality and constitutionality of the Enhanced Defense Co-operation Agreement (EDCA), signed during Obama's visit in January 2014. He said, "If we formalize (the request) now, and they start building up structures and the SC declares EDCA unconstitutional, they will have to destroy the structures." Posted by: ryuge 2015-04-27 |
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