BASA AIR BASE, Philippines: The United States and Philippines will announce new sites as soon as possible for an expanded Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which gives the Western power access to military bases in the Southeast Asian country.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr last month granted the United States access to four military bases, on top of five existing locations under the 2014 EDCA, which comes amid China’s increasing assertiveness toward the South China Sea and self-ruled Taiwan.
Speaking at the Basa Air Base in Manila, one of the existing EDCA sites, visiting US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the defense agreements between the two countries were “not focused on any particular issue.”
EDCA allows US access to Philippine bases for joint training, pre-positioning of equipment and building of facilities such as runways, fuel storage and military housing, but it is not a permanent presence.
While the Philippines has yet to formally identify the sites, a former military chief has publicly said the United States had asked for access to bases in Isabela, Zambales and Cagayan, all on the island of Luzon, facing north toward Taiwan, and on Palawan in the southwest, near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
Leaders of local governments at the potential EDCA sites have backed the government’s decision to allow the United States greater access to the bases, Philippines’ defense chief, Carlito Galvez, said in a joint news conference with Kendall.
Galvez and Kendall were leading a groundbreaking ceremony for the rehabilitation of the Basa Air Base’s runway.
“Today’s event is a physical manifestation of our Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, a key pillar of the US-Philippine alliance,” Kendall said in a speech, adding it built on a seven-decade-old Mutual Defense Treaty that applied anywhere in the South China Sea.
“We are at an inflection point in history and our cooperation will help ensure we stay on the path to peace and stability,” he added.
The runway rehabilitation is part of $82 million the United States has allocated for infrastructure investments at the existing five EDCA sites.
“Moving forward we hope the USwill consider more EDCA projects,” Galvez said.
US, Philippines to announce new sites for American military as soon as possible
https://arab.news/c2684
US, Philippines to announce new sites for American military as soon as possible
- Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last month granted the United States access to four additional military bases
North Macedonia police arrest man accused of planning mass murder
- Police said the suspect was inspired by the notorious Sandy Hook school massacre in December 2012
- Police tracked the message to the village of Mala Recica, west of the capital Skopje
SKOPJE: A 20-year-old man was arrested in North Macedonia suspected of planning a mass murder, authorities said on Friday, after being tipped off by US intelligence.
Police said the suspect was inspired by the notorious Sandy Hook school massacre in December 2012, when a 20-year-old man killed 26 people including 20 children at a school in Connecticut.
FBI investigators spotted threats on the social app Discord in late January and informed the US embassy in Skopje which contacted the local authorities, police said in a statement.
“The suspect sent a serious threat that he was ready to carry out an attack with a firearm — an AK-47 automatic rifle... while saying that he had impaired mental health,” it said.
Police tracked the message to the village of Mala Recica, west of the capital Skopje, and arrested two people.
The police said the suspect was charged with terrorism, while another, aged 89, was charged with weapons and explosives offenses. Media reported that the second suspect was the young man’s grandfather.
During searches officers seized various firearms, state prosecutors said in a statement.
The police said the weapons included an AK-47, two handguns and hundreds of pieces of ammunition plus body armor, knives and electronics.
The prosecutors’ office said the suspect was remanded in custody for a month.
