MANILA, Philippines — Hours before the arrival of President Barack Obama, the Philippines and the United States signed on Monday morning a 10-year agreement allowing American soldiers to have greater access to military bases in the country.
The deal, formally known as the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), was signed by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and US Ambassor to the Philippines, Philip Goldberg past 10 a.m.
In his speech, Goldberg said the EDCA will take the Philippines-US relations to a "new and higher level" and it will be an important part of the existing Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement frameworks.
Read: What is the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement?
The agreement was inked amid the increasing tensions in the contested South China Sea, though Goldberg made no specific mention of the territorial disputes between Manila and Beijing.
"The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement or EDCA serves as recognition by both sides that there is even more that we can do together to support the alliance and to promote peace and security in the region," Goldberg said in what seemed to be a reference to the maritime tensions.
The American envoy said the accord will help the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in maintaining and developing additional maritime security and maritime domain awareness.
It will also help in the long-term modernization of the AFP as it aims to increase training opportunities for Filipino and American forces to enhance interoperability and humanitarian crisis response abilities.
Gazmin said the EDCA manifests a “deepened relationship†between the two countries as they face “complex†security challenges.
“Our alliance has continued to evolve as both our countries continuously search for mechanisms that would enhance our individual and collective abilities to face such security challenges,†he said.
Philippine negotiators denied that the agreement has something to do with China’s aggressive expansion in the region.
“China was never discussed in the negotiations. This agreement is about our defense alliance with the United States. We don’t aim to contain or confront anyone,†Philippine panel member Lourdes Yparaguirre said in an interview.
“I hope that our neighbors in the region would also view this agreement as a positive contribution to peace, stability, security and prosperity in the region,†she added.
China, which has been beefing up its military might, claims almost 90 percent of the West Philippine Sea while the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims.
Taking advantage of the Philippines’ weak military capability, Beijing has occupied areas that are well within Manila’s exclusive economic zone including the Panganiban (Mischief) Reef off Palawan and Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal off Zambales.
China has also set up a blockade in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal to prevent supplies from reaching a grounded ship that serves as a Philippine military installation.
No re-opening of US bases
Goldberg added that the agreement will also update the security alliance of the Philippines and the US to meet the increasingly complex challenges of the 21st century, including terrorism, transnational crime or natural disasters like Typhoon Yolanda.
The official, however, stressed that the US does not intend to establish permanent military presence in the Philippines with the signing of the EDCA.
"While that captures the essence of what we will do, I want to reiterate what it will not do: It will not re-open US bases. It is an agreement to enhance our defense relationship," Goldberg said.
He said this is among the key principles of the EDCA, along with the commitment to democracy and intlernational law, the mutuality of benfits to both nations and the respect for Philippine sovereignty.
'Milestone' for Philippine-US relations
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) welcomed the signing of the EDCA, saying the deal marks a "milestone" in the shared history of the US and the Philippines as enduring treaty allies.
"The EDCA elevates to a higher plane of engagement our already robust defense alliance, a cornerstone of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. It provides new momentum for our partnership and opens up fresh avenues of bilateral cooperation," DFA Secretary Albert Del Rosario said in a statement.
Del Rosario said enhancing the country's self-defense capabilities, maritime security and maritime domain awareness, and the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capacities are important given the "rapidly evolving regional architecture and domestic realities."
"These are valuable components of a responsible and responsive security engagement that will benefit both our countries and peoples, and contribute to regional and international security and stability," he said. - with Alexis Romero