Philippines identifies four new sites for U.S. military in new pact

• The Philippines on 3 Apr identified four additional bases the US will have access to under a defence agreement aimed at expanding a decades-old military alliance between them.
• The sites named on 3 Apr by the office of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr are the Camilo Osias navy base in Sta Ana and Lal-lo airport, both in Cagayan province, Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela province and Balabac, Palawan.
• Isabela and Cagayan are on the main island of Luzon, facing north toward Taiwan, while Palawan is near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
• The four locations were “seen to boost the disaster response of the country as the locations will also be used for humanitarian and relief operations during emergencies and natural disasters,” the president’s office said in a statement.
• The new Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) locations are on top of five existing sites — the Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan, Basa Air Base in Pampanga, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu and Lumbia Air Base in Mindanao.

External Link : https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Defense/Philippines-identifies-four-new-sites-for-U.S.-military-in-new-pact