Marcos says US cannot use Philippines military bases for China offensive

The Philippine president also said Washington had not asked his government to provide troops in case of war between China and the US over Taiwan

Marcos added the US never brought up the possibility that the sites would be used as ‘staging areas’ for offensive action against any country

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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:44am, 5 May 2023

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said on Thursday his agreement this year to grant the United States access to more military bases in his country was not intended for use for “offensive action” against any country.

Speaking to a US think-tank in Washington, Marcos said he had made that point to Chinese officials during recent talks. He also said the US had not asked the Philippines to provide troops in case of war between China and the US over Taiwan.

Marcos told the Centre for Strategic and International Studies that the 2014 Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) that allows access to bases in the Philippines was conceived to deal with the effects of climate change.

“The foreign minister of China just visited with me … and I told him and I assured him that no, these are not … intended to be military bases to attack, to move against anyone, any country, not China, not any country,” Marcos said.

He said use of EDCA bases for “offensive action” would be outside the parameters of what Manila had discussed with the US and added that Washington had never brought up the possibility that they would be used as “staging areas” for offensive action against any country.

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