Bully China gets warned by Philippines’ big brother, the United States of America, over the bully’s provocative maneuvers in the West Philippine Seas.
And the expansion of the EDCA to areas for faster military response to China’s provocations could not have come at a better time.
EDCA will certainly be beneficial for our country considering the persistent intrusion, provocation, bullying and encroachment by China into our territorial waters and towards our fishermen and guardians of the seas, the Philippine Coast Guard.
By adding more EDCA sites around the country ‘for full protection’ would protect our communities from further encroachment and maneuverings by China over our deep and shallow waters-- the very source of livelihood of our marginal fishermen.
The Philippines has been holding “Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises for many years with American troops and military logistics in some EDCA sites starting last month.
Defense officials are happy about having more EDCA sites because that practically frees them from using their own supplies and manpower in warding off any security threats to the country. But such sites can also instigate China into a show of force, which would be disastrous for both our country and people.
The EDCA, a security agreement with the United States, allows the prepositioning of American troops and their equipment in identified and developed sites located inside military camps in the country.
At least nine sites, three of them located in Cagayan and Isabela, have been identified for the EDCA. However, Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba and other local officials have expressed reservations over his province’s hosting of US forces.
Already 21 mayors have expressed their support for EDCA so “we expect this number to increase, with one municipality even intimating the possibility of donating a tract of land for the use of the Armed Forces of the Philippines [AFP],” said AFP spokesman Arsenio Andolong in a statement.
The expansion or allotment of additional sites for the EDCA assures the military that it could fully and readily protect any parts of the country, the statement said.
The AFP deems the EDCA a necessity in “protecting our sovereignty and territorial integrity, including the protection of maritime resources that should be enjoyed by our people, therefore we need 360-degree protection capability for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, ” said AFP spokesman Col. Medel Aguilar.
The current 9 sites identified for EDCA are: four in Cagayan, Isabela and Balabac Island in Palawan—which are the new ones. The earlier five sites are in Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan.
Aguilar said the sites choice for the 2014 agreement with Washington undergoes a process that complements the military’s modernization program.
“Aside from equipment, modernization also means getting facilities – such as runways, barracks for our soldiers, and where to store equipment during times of emergency,” Aguilar said in a radio interview.
“In the end, we are the ones who really benefit from EDCA facilities,” he added.
The US has so far invested $83 million to the first five EDCA locations and with four additional ones, it expects to have invested around $100 million by the end of its fiscal year in September.
Despite assurances from President Marcos that the Philippines will not allow EDCA sites to be used for any offensive actions, China has so far entertained delusions that EDCA and the presence of US military in our shores are intended to thwart China's possible attack on Taiwan, our neighbor, which would jeopardize the overseas Filipinos working in the independent island state. In the process, China is proclaiming its actual intentions on Taiwan, which it wants to execute without outside interference, which the US won't allow.