Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 9) — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday said it is keeping an ear out for some local governments opposing the possible establishment of an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) site to station US troops in their areas.
“We are actually listening to the statements and sentiment of our local government officials and we can’t afford that these issues will divide us… We need the country to be united especially in the implementation of projects that will strengthen the capability of the Armed Forces or the country to defend itself,” AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
The Philippines and the United States announced last week an agreement to expand American military presence, giving troops access to four new sites in the country as the two sides discuss concrete actions to address China’ s destabilizing activities in the region, in particular the West Philippine Sea.
The government has yet to announce the location of four new EDCA sites. Defense officials previously said Zambales, Cagayan, Isabela, and Palawan – all of which face China, Taiwan, and the Korean Peninsula – were the earlier proposed additional locations.
Governors from Cagayan and Isabela expressed reservations over such possibility.
The US said it set aside $82 million, or around ₱4.492 billion, for the project.
Aguilar said having more EDCA sites will help develop defense capability through bilateral military training, in addition to enhancing disaster response.
He noted that control over the EDCA sites remains with the government and that there are existing restrictions on American troop access.
“There are guidelines on how the US forces can access these facilities and permission or authority will be given first by the Philippine government for them to use these,” Aguilar said. “There are restrictions also which are of course guided by our existing laws and constitutional provisions, such as the non-use of nuclear materials that will endanger the lives of our people.”
