US military in position to secure expanded access to key Philippine bases

Washington: Following a significant revision of the US force posture in Japan, the US military is now in a position to gain expanded access to key bases in the Philippines. According to US and Philippine officials, this development reflects the allies’ concern over the region’s increasingly unstable security situation and their desire to strengthen their alliances with the US.

An announcement is expected this week, when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meets with his colleague and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in Manila. Negotiations are still ongoing, The Washington Post reported.

As part of the expansion, US forces will have access to Philippine military installations, most likely including two bases on the northern island of Luzon. They could give US forces a strategic position from which to mount operations in the event of a conflict in Taiwan or the South China Sea, analysts said.

They will also make it easier for people to work together on a variety of security issues, such as quicker responses to natural catastrophes and climate-related incidents.

At least two of the sites that have been evaluated and assessed extensively over the past few months in the Philippines have been identified, according to a State Department official on the condition of anonymity.

An agreement for the new sites had “more or less” been reached, according to a Philippine defence official, but it would be finalised when the two defence secretaries met. At least two of the new locations are in Luzon, he said, and assistants from the two offices have continued to work out important specifics recently.

As part of a White House initiative to increase collaboration with Indo-Pacific partners, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan brought up the subject with his colleague Eduardo Ao earlier this month, a US official said.

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