MANILA, Philippines — Defense officials of the Philippines and the United States met to discuss the logistics capabilities in Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites, the Department of National Defense (DND) said yesterday.
Defense Assistant Secretary for logistics, acquisition and self-reliant defense posture Joselito Ramos met with US Assistant Secretary of Defense for acquisition and sustainment Christopher Lowman on Friday to discuss ways to enhance logistical capabilities at these sites.
The meetings took place ahead of the visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week, where among the key issues tabled is maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea.
With the upcoming Philippines-US Balikatan exercise in April, Ramos said the EDCA sites could accommodate a large number of logistical assets.
He also raised with his US counterpart the challenges faced by the DND, including logistics, transportation, resupply, overhaul and maintenance of projects relating to defense cooperation.
“Both sides committed to addressing the capability gaps of the EDCA sites, and emphasized that sustaining regional cooperation between like-minded countries will further enhance interoperability,” the DND said in a statement.
The Philippines ramped up its military ties with the US and allowed greater US access to local military bases that has angered China.
The US Department of Defense said that expanding US rotational access by designating four new EDCA sites at strategic locations across the Philippines is one of the historic achievements alongside its ally to make US force posture in the Indo-Pacific more mobile, distributed and resilient.
In expanding the EDCA to include four new sites in Palawan and Northern Luzon, the Philippines and the US will increase infrastructure investments at new and existing sites to further support combined training, exercises and interoperability between the militaries of both countries as well as civilian-led disaster preparedness and response capacities.
Meanwhile, United Kingdom Deputy National Security Adviser for international affairs Dame Sarah Macintosh underscored her country’s commitment to strengthening defense relations with the Philippines.
DND Senior Undersecretary Irineo Espino met last week with MacIntosh during the latter’s courtesy call at the department.
The discussions focused on shared security challenges, particularly the West Philippine Sea issue.