Philippines rules out giving US access to more military bases
President Ferdinand Marcos firmly rejects further US military presence in the Philippines.
A Philippine Air Force personnel walks past a US Air Force F-16 fighter jet during the US-Philippines joint military exercise on April 11, 2024. / Photo: AFP
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos said the United States would not be given access to more Philippine military bases.
"The answer to that is no. The Philippines has no plan to open or to establish more EDCA bases," Marcos said Monday in response to an AFP question.
Manila last year announced the locations of four more military bases it is allowing the US military to use on top of the five agreed on under the 2014 Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement, known as EDCA.
The deal allows US troops to rotate through and store defence equipment and supplies.
The four additional bases include sites near the hotly disputed South China Sea and another not far from Taiwan.
Marcos made his remarks during a forum with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines that was attended by members of the Philippine military and foreign diplomats.
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