The top defence and diplomatic officials from the US and Philippines agreed to complete a road map on US security assistance to the Philippines in the next five to 10 years, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
Austin on Tuesday said the long-time allies discussed the delivery of “priority defence platforms” including radars, drones, military transport aircraft and coastal and air defence systems at a so-called 2+2 meeting in Washington, which also involved US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their Philippine counterparts.
Philippines Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo told the same news conference the two sides “redoubled” their commitment to modernising the Philippines-US alliance in recognition that “our partnership will need to play a stronger role in preserving an international law-based international order.”
Experts, including former U.S. defence officials, say the United States sees the Philippines as a potential location for rockets, missiles and artillery systems.
Austin said that it was “too early” to discuss what assets the United States would like to station at military bases in the Philippines under a recently expanded Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
Manalo added that the EDCA sites were mainly aimed at improving military interoperability, addressing potential humanitarian disasters “and perhaps respond to other types of security challenges,” but did not elaborate.The Pentagon has not specifically said what the additional sites will be used for, except that work would include airport expansion and training involving naval assets. — Reuters
