No new EDCA sites being eyed, DND chief says 

MANILA, Philippines — Plans to broaden the interpretation of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the Philippines and the United States will not include the opening of new military bases for US military troops to access, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said. 

Teodoro clarified the scope of the Philippines' plans to update the 1951 treaty during the House appropriations committee's deliberations of the Department of National Defense (DND)'s proposed 2.239-billion budget for 2025 on Thursday, August 29. 

This comes after the National Maritime Council on Wednesday echoed the DND's call to review the treaty, with council spokesperson Alexander Lopez saying the "strategic landscape" has significantly changed since the treaty was signed.

Teodoro first bared that there are ongoing conversations to broaden interpretation of the treaty on Tuesday, when he stressed the need for a "more dynamic" agreement in the face of China's growing aggression in the South China Sea, parts of which are referred to as the West Philippine Sea.

For Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela Women's Party), talk of expanding the treaty is concerning as it would "only serve to entangle the Philippines further into the geopolitical ambitions of the United States, compromising our national sovereignty."

The lawmaker sought Teodoro's reassurance that the treaty would not give US troops access to more military bases in the Philippines through additional Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites. 

"No... This does not entail additional EDCA sites because we are sticking to the nine facilities," the DND chief said. 

"It entails perhaps more interoperable measures to address China's creative and varied tactics on a defense-to-defense level," he added. 

Teodoro said while there are no specifics yet, he sees the need to make the interpretation of the treaty more dynamic to respond to threats that the Philippines "may not even foresee," such as cyber threats. 

Currently, China is able to do "what we know supposedly as illegal but legally," such as the deployment of maritime militia vessels and Coast Guard vessels, the DND chief said. This requires the country to tap its allies and partners.

Brosas said that the treaties forged by the government should not "drag us into war" — a statement Teodoro agreed with.
 
"I think that is the same concern. However, we have to point out that the aggressor here is only one actor. That's why I said China is the greatest disruptor of peace in the West Philippine Sea," the DND chief said. 
 
The Philippines has a mutual defense treaty with the US while the Visiting Forces Agreement and EDCA allow American troops to come to the Philippines for joint training and for technical support. 

In April 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. allowed the US access to four more Philippine military bases under EDCA, bringing the total count to nine. 

Critics, including the Makabayan bloc and rights group Karapatan, believe the expanded presence of American soldiers in the Philippines leaves Filipino women and LGBQTIA+ persons vulnerable to sexual violence by US soldiers.