3 to 5 camps eyed for US use, says official

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippines is mulling opening three to five military camps for the use of US forces under recently-signed Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), a senior official of Philippine Department of National Defense said today.

Defense Undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino cited Fort Magsaysay as an "ideal location", saying it's a venue for holding Balikatan exercises there. Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija province is home of Philippine Army's 7th Infantry Division and Special Operations Command.

The Philippine and the US sides have started discussing the locations of access, but that's not the final. These bases will be the locations for prepositioning activities and construction activities, Batino said at a press conference in Camp Aguinaldo today.

The locations that would be opened for the US use will be listed in an annex. There is no timetable when to finish the annex, "but this is a priority of the Department of National Defense," he said.  

However, Batino declined to say whether the former American bases in Subic Bay in northern province of Zambales and Clark airfield in Pampanga province will also opened to the US forces under the EDCA.

Meanwhile, Batino said the annex that they are crafting will not set the number of US forces that will be rotating in the country.   "These are operational details that differ every year, depending on activities that are approved by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the US Pacific Command, through the Mutual Defense Board and the Security Engagement Board," he said.