The Philippines remains a target because of its strategic location, with or without the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites, the country’s military chief said on Friday. “Even if there are Edca sites or not, we are still a target,”...
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The Philippines remains a target because of its strategic location, with or without the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites, the country’s military chief said on Friday.
“Even if there are Edca sites or not, we are still a target,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jnr told radio station DZRH when asked to react to the impression that Edca sites will make the country a target of China.
“It’s because of our location, the geolocation of our country. Our location is very strategic, we are near Taiwan, and we are in the middle that obstructs their ships going to the Pacific Ocean,” he added.
Two years ago, Manila gave the US access to four new military sites up from the existing five under the EDCA, which allows the US to rotate troops and pre-position defence material, equipment and supplies in “agreed locations” in the country.
The four new bases include one on Palawan island facing the South China Sea, and three in northern Luzon, some 400km from Taiwan.
The hosting of US troops in the country is covered by the Visiting Forces Agreement, which was signed in 1999 and sets the terms under which American military personnel can operate on Philippine soil.
Retired Navy Adm. Rommel Jude Ong said the Batanes Islands are the most strategic, impacting operations in the South China Sea, mid-Pacific, and southern Taiwan.
The EDCA opens the door for the United States to deploy its assets and personnel on Philippine soil.
Earlier this year, the US deployed the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) missile system in Batanes, a small province at the northernmost tip of the Philippines facing Taiwan for the annual military drills between Manila, US and its allies.
Last year, the US also deployed in Northern Luzon Typhon, a US Army missile system that can launch SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles with ranges that cover the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
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