Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Monday that the four new military bases to be used by US forces in the archipelago will not be used to attack the People’s Republic of China.
“If no one attacks us, they don’t have to worry because we are not going to attack them. All we are going to do is keep strengthening our territory and our defenses”Marcos told the television station ABS CBNreferring to the People’s Republic of China.
Marcos’s statements have become widespread following Beijing’s concerns over the location of one of the new military bases in the far north of Luzon Island, 400 kilometers from Taiwan (Republic of China).
Another base, on Balac Island, near Palawan, is near islands and a maritime zone claimed by Beijing and Manila.
The Philippine head of state authorized the United States to use military bases to “facilitate relief” during natural disasters.
Marcos’s explanation coincides with the Pentagon’s positions on strengthening the US military presence in the Philippines in the context of “natural and humanitarian disasters”.
On February 2, the Philippines and the United States agreed to renew the Defense Cooperation Pact (EDCA), which provides for the use of the four new bases by US forces.
As of 2014, the United States has used five other military bases in the Philippine archipelago.
The strengthening of the US military presence in the Philippines comes at a time of tensions in the South China Sea over the sovereignty of the islands claimed by Manila and Beijing and over the position of the People’s Republic of China vis-a-vis Taiwan.
Source: DN
