NextGen Day

Building long-term bases in the Philippines is not something the US is interested in doing.

After the Department of National Defense (DND) and the US Department of Defense previously announced their agreement to designate four new locations as Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) facilities, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III provided this explanation.

He told reporters shortly after his Thursday afternoon meeting with DND Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., “In terms of EDC locations, I just want to be clear that we are not seeking permanent basing in the Philippines, as you heard us say in our statements, EDCA is a collaborative agreement that enables rotational activities.

He added that these EDCA sites are a crucial foundation for training and provide opportunities to improve the interoperability of Philippine and US forces.

Austin added, “It also gives us the capacity to effectively respond to humanitarian situations, as well as disaster assistance and other forms of crisis, not just for the Philippines but for the regions we are at.

Galvez indicated these four additional EDCA locations would be made public after they had finished speaking with the communities where these facilities would be located during the same press conference.

“The President wanted to see that these agreements of the four EDCA sites would be finished. He also wanted to see that all activities will be discussed with our local governments,” he continued.

The EDCA, which was finalized in August 2013 after eight rounds of negotiations, forbids permanent basing but grants US forces access to specific Philippine military installations, the right to build facilities, and the ability to preposition equipment, aircraft, and ships.

The future facilities at Cesar Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga; Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation in Nueva Ecija; Lumbia Airfield in Cagayan de Oro City; Antonio Bautista Air Base in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan; and Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu province are being constructed by the Philippine government and the US under the EDCA.

For disaster response, PH needs better capabilities with heavy and medium lifting.

Galvez responded that the military needs greater heavy and medium-lift capability to improve its disaster response operations when asked what capabilities are needed to strengthen the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

He continued, “I think it’s more on the (heavy and) medium-lift capability, like what we’ve bought for our search and rescue and disaster relief activities.

More C-130 cargo planes and S-70i “Black Hawk” helicopters, which the AFP has already outfitted for search and rescue missions, are needed, according to Galvez.

In addition, the DND head stated that the AFP requires greater resources to protect the nation’s marine sector.

According to Galvez, this includes the ability to find submarines in the West Philippine Sea.

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