A brief look at what might lie ahead for Washington and Manila.
As I reported previously,
the United States and the Philippines are now carrying out this year’s
iteration of the Balikatan exercises, which have been expanded significantly.
But with those exercises soon coming to a close on April 30, there have been
some discussions about what we might expect from U.S.-Philippine military
relations in the near future.
One
evolving issue is what the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) signed
last year between the two countries might mean specifically in terms of the
U.S. access to Philippine bases. In mid-April, Philippine Foreign Secretary
Albert del Rosario had already said that the
Philippines welcomed the U.S. plan to deploy air and naval assets to the
country as part of the next phase of Washington’s rebalance to the region.
While del Rosario said he had not discussed specifics with his U.S.
counterparts, he noted that handling such equipment “will require U.S.
presence.” Department of National Defense (DND) spokesman Peter Galvez also added that Manila had
planned and looked at where some of these new capabilities “may be
appropriately deployed,” including Subic and Clark which the United States had
access to up till 1991.
On April
24, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Gregorio
Catapang offered a bit more clarity on this question when he disclosed to ABS-CBN
News that US troops would have access to at least eight Philippine military
bases under EDCA. These are: Fort Magsaysay in Neuva Ecija; Crow Valley in
Tarlac; Basa Air Base in Pampanga; Naval Station San Miguel in Zambales;
Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan; Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu; and Naval
Base Rafael Ramos in Cebu. Two of those bases face the South China Sea.
The list
of bases is not new – it was agreed upon during a meeting between Catapang and
Admiral Samuel Locklear, the chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, last October.
Catapang was also careful to emphasize that the list would only be formalized
once the Philippine Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of EDCA, which
is still yet to occur. And while media reports have stressed that some of these
bases face the South China Sea (which Manila calls the West Philippine Sea),
Catapang himself noted that the Philippines recognizes that this does not solve
its problems in disputed areas and Manila cannot expect Washington to defend
its ally if an armed conflict erupts.
“EDCA
will not solve our problem. We understand the treaty, it does not include the
West Philippine Sea. So we want to develop our own capabilities,” he said.
In that
vein, the Philippines is also looking to boost its own capabilities in this
respect in the coming months with the help of several countries including the
United States. On 27 April, Galvez, the DND spokesman, reportedly told IHS
Jane’s that the Philippines is preparing to submit a request to the U.S.
government to procure additional military equipment – especially those that
could boost the country’s offshore military capabilities in the face of rising
Chinese assertiveness – in line with official meetings between the two sides.
“We will
be requesting to acquire equipment that can improve our military capabilities,
particularly in the maritime domain,” Galvez said. “We have a list
of priorities but we will not be specific with our requirements until we know
what is available from the U.S.”
As IHS
Jane’s notes, stated requirements by the Armed Forces of the Philippines
(AFP) include additional transport aircraft, long-range patrol aircraft,
close-air support aircraft, anti-submarine warfare helicopters, light frigates,
amphibious assault vehicles, and communications and surveillance systems. By Prashanth Parameswaran
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