Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (Photo: Reuters)Hanoi (VNA) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on January 29 asked the US not to store weapons in military camps in the Philippines under the two countries’ Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) signed in 2014.
President Duterte said at a press conference that he would consider abrogating the EDCA which allows US troops temporarily station in certain military camps in the Philippines, if the Americans build weapon depots in those camps.
On January 26, Philippine Minister of Defence Delfin Lorenzana said the US military will start constructing facilities in military bases in the Philippines this year as part of the EDCA.
One of the camps where the Americans plan to start constructions of facilities is the Basa air base in Pampanga province near Subic and Clark, according to Minister Lorenzana.
The US military construction plan was delayed due to petitions to the Supreme Court that questioned the EDCA’s legality. However, the court last year declared that the pact conforms with the Philippine Constitution.-VNA
