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

The Philippines

Reuters

Published: 8:44am, 5 May 2023

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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.

US cannot use Philippines to store arms meant for defending Taiwan, Manila says

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.

Manila’s ties with Washington have deepened under Marcos and he granted the US military access to four more bases in February, something China said was “stoking the fire” of regional tension.

Experts say the US sees the Philippines as a potential location for rockets, missiles and artillery systems to counter a Chinese amphibious invasion of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said after a meeting of the defence and foreign ministers of the US and the Philippines last month that it was “too early” to discuss what assets Washington would like to station at Philippine bases.

02:55

US touts ‘ironclad’ commitment to the Philippines amid rising tensions in South China Sea

Marcos came to Washington for a summit with President Joe Biden seeking clarity on the extent of the US’ commitment to protect his country under a 1951 security pact, amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, where Manila has rival claims to Beijing’s, as well as tensions over Taiwan and North Korea.

Biden said after their meeting on Monday the US commitment to the defence of its ally was “ironclad,” including in the South China Sea, and after a visit by Marcos to the Pentagon on Wednesday the two sides issued a six-page document of “bilateral defence guidelines” laying out the extent of US commitments to the Philippines under their 1951 mutual defence treaty.

Marcos said relations between Washington and Manila were back on a “normal road of partnership” and needed to evolve to make them more responsive to present and emerging challenges.

Under his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, relations with US had soured as Duterte turned the Philippines sharply away from its former colonial ruler and built closer ties with Beijing.