US military seeks more access to bases in Philippines

The US military is seeking to expand its access to bases in the Philippines with an eye toward China, according to several US defence officials, as part of an ongoing shift in force posture in the Indo-Pacific region.

An announcement could come as soon as this week with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin set to meet with the Philippines’ leadership in the coming days, including President Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr. and acting Secretary of National Defense Carlito Galvez Jr., CNN reports.

The increased access to military bases in the Philippines would give US armed forces a strategic footing on the southeastern edge of the South China Sea just 200 miles south of Taiwan, a move sure to anger Beijing, which claims much of the disputed waterway as its sovereign territory.

The US military presence in the Philippines falls under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) signed in 2014 which allows the US to rotate troops to specific bases and build facilities for both countries to use.

A senior US defence official said there have been discussions about additional sites and that it would be a “significant topic of conversation” during Austin’s visit to the Philippines.

In November, Vice President Kamala Harris visited Manila and discussed the possibility of access to more bases. During her trip, Harris visited a military base on Palawan, a narrow strip of land known more for its beaches on the Philippines’ western edge. Palawan faces the Spratly Islands, a series of small islands in the South China Sea, some of which China has militarized. Harris’ visit sent an unambiguous message to Beijing that the Philippines are moving closer to the US, reversing the trend under the previous president, Rodrigo Duterte.

“Right now, I think we’re seeing a very positive upswing in the trajectory of the relationship,” said the defence official, who said there would be more high-level meetings over the next several months.

“Right now, I think we’re seeing a very positive upswing in the trajectory of the relationship,” said the defence official, who said there would be more high-level meetings over the next several months.

The Philippines used to be home to two of the US military’s largest overseas installations, Clark Air Base and Subic Bay Naval Base, which were transferred to Philippine control in the 1990s. A mutual defence treaty signed in 1951 remains in force, making it the oldest bilateral treaty alliance in the region for the United States. The two countries built on the relationship with the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement and the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

Relations between the two countries were strained under Duterte, who threatened to cancel the Visiting Forces Agreement, which would have made it far more difficult for US forces to access the Philippines. Duterte relented and restored the agreement in July 2021.