US, Philippines expand bilateral defence agreement

The US and the Philippines on February 2 announced their agreement to give US forces access to four additional bases in the Southeast Asian country.
Hanoi (VNA) – The US and the Philippines on February 2 announced their agreement to give US forces access to four additional bases in the Southeast Asian country.

In a joint statement, US and Philippine defence officials clearly stated that the two sides have agreed to expand their current bilateral defence agreement to four more bases in strategic areas of the Philippines.

Under the agreement, Washington will be granted access to the four bases following the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) which became effective in 2014, allowing the US to rotate troops and to build and deploy facilities at Philippine bases.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Department of National Defence said that the US has spent more than 82 million USD on infrastructure projects at five underway facilities in the Philippines.

The statement was released during US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin’s visit to the Philippines./.
VNA

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