The U.S. will create two naval bases in the Cagayan province covering Luzon, the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago that lies directly across from Taiwan in the South China Sea.
Naval Base Camilo Osias will be located near the municipality of Santa Ana, Cagayan. The other base in Caguyan will be near the Lal-lo Airport.
Another military base, called Melchor Dela Cruz, will be located in Gamu, Isabela, also on the Luzon point.
A fourth base will be located at Balabac Island in the province of Palawan, located in the western part of the Philippines near the Spratly Islands, a major archipelago in the disputed South China Sea.
Tensions between the U.S. and China are high over fears that Beijing will seek to take control of Taiwan in the coming years. China has also angered its regional neighbors with aggressive efforts to assert control over the South China Sea, which is crucial to global trade.
America’s new bases in the Philippines will provide a major boost to the U.S. presence in the region, as part of efforts to neutralize China’s influence.
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said the expansion in the Philippines “makes our training more resilient.”
“It is about creating regional readiness but also being able to respond to any type of disaster or any type of humanitarian disaster that could arise in the region,” she told reporters at a Monday briefing.
Beijing has reacted angrily to the expansion of the U.S. military in the Philippines.
A spokesperson for China’s embassy in the Philippines said the agreement will “seriously endanger regional peace and stability and drag the Philippines into the abyss of geopolitical strife and damage its economic development.”
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
