To counter China in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, the US is able to reach an agreement with the Philippines. According to the most recent information, the US has gained access to four more military bases in the Philippines, completing the arc around China. As it will give a front-row view to observe Chinese activities in the South China Sea and around Taiwan, this now represents a significant setback for China. A larger American military presence in the Philippines was agreed upon by the US on Thursday.
Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Visited the Philippines recently in relation to the agreement. The announcement comes as Washington opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands on Thursday to counter Beijing in the Pacific waters. The agreement permits Washington access to Philippine military bases for the purposes of joint training, prepositioning of equipment, and the construction of facilities like runways, fuel storage, and military housing, but it forbids a permanent presence.
The agreement permits Washington access to Philippine military bases for the purposes of joint training, prepositioning of equipment, and the construction of facilities like runways, fuel storage, and military housing, but it forbids a permanent presence. The new Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration in the Philippines is reportedly working to restore the country’s damaged relations with the US after his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte’s rhetorical attacks on the US. Beijing strongly reacted to the news, saying that having more access to military bases would undermine regional stability and inflame tensions.
Although the exact locations of the new bases have not been disclosed, the US is said to have requested access to the northern land mass of Luzon, the Philippines’ closest neighbor to Taiwan, as well as the island of Palawan, which faces the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
While this is going on, the American embassy in the Solomon Islands has only employed a few state department employees, and locals. Earlier Prior to closing it in 1993 as part of a global diplomatic post reduction, Washington ran an embassy in the region for five years.
