MANILA: The Philippines will not allow “any offensive actions” from the bases it has opened to US troops, President Ferdinand Marcos said Monday.
Manila last week announced the locations of four more military bases it is allowing the US military to use on top of the five agreed on under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, known as EDCA.
The deal allows US troops to rotate through and store defense equipment and supplies.
China warned last week the expanded military deal could endanger regional peace, and accused Washington of a “zero-sum mentality.”
The four additional bases include sites near the hotly disputed South China Sea and another not far from Taiwan.
Marcos said China’s reaction over the expanded military deal was “not surprising,” but assured them the Philippines is only shoring up its territorial defense.
“We will not allow our bases to be used for any offensive actions. This is only aimed at helping the Philippines whenever we need help,” Marcos told reporters.
“If no one is attacking us, they need not worry because we will not fight them.”
The pact stalled under former president Rodrigo Duterte, who favored closer ties with China.
But Marcos, who succeeded Duterte in June, has adopted a more US-friendly foreign policy and sought to accelerate the implementation of the EDCA.
Marcos has insisted he will not let Beijing trample on Manila’s maritime rights.
His remarks came on the heels of China’s third day of war games around Taiwan on Monday, where it simulated “sealing off” the self-ruled island.
China launched the military exercises in response to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen last week meeting US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, an encounter it had warned would provoke a furious response.
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Philippines rules out ‘offensive actions’ on bases US can use
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Philippines rules out ‘offensive actions’ on bases US can use
- Manila adds four more bases it is allowing the US military to use
- Defense cooperation pact allows US troops to rotate through and store defense equipment and supplies
UN warns 200,000 more Afghan children face acute malnutrition in 2026
“Acute malnutrition among children is soaring,” WFP’S Country Director John Aylieff said
Some 200,000 additional children face acute malnutrition this year
GENEVA: Hundreds of thousands more children face acute malnutrition in Afghanistan this year amid a hunger crisis exacerbated by foreign aid cuts and violence on the border with Pakistan, a UN official said on Tuesday.
International aid to Afghanistan has fallen sharply since 2021, when US-led forces exited the country and the Taliban regained power. The crisis has been compounded by natural calamities including earthquakes.
“Acute malnutrition among children is soaring. Last year we saw the highest surge ever recorded in Afghanistan, and this year, a staggering 3.7 million children will need malnutrition treatment,” the World Food Programme’s Country Director John Aylieff told a Geneva press briefing.
Some 200,000 additional children face acute malnutrition this year, he added.
Funding cuts mean the UN agency only has the resources to treat one in every four children needing treatment for acute malnutrition, Aylieff said.
Others do not even have the means to reach clinics, he said, voicing concerns that some are trapped by snowfall in remote highland areas.
Most children who die in Afghanistan do so “during the winter... at home silently,” he said.
“What I fear is when the snow is melted at the end of March or in April, we will find there has been a very high toll of child deaths in the villages.”
Expulsion policies in neighboring Pakistan and Iran have resulted in over 5 million returnees since late 2023, further straining limited resources, Aylieff said.
Many of those returning to Afghanistan are close to areas where Pakistani and Afghan troops have clashed in recent days, forcing WFP to suspend some services there.
“We foresee that acute malnutrition will be driven up further by the conflict as people are prevented from accessing health services,” imperilling tens of thousands of children, said Aylieff.
Some 200,000 additional children face acute malnutrition this year
GENEVA: Hundreds of thousands more children face acute malnutrition in Afghanistan this year amid a hunger crisis exacerbated by foreign aid cuts and violence on the border with Pakistan, a UN official said on Tuesday.
International aid to Afghanistan has fallen sharply since 2021, when US-led forces exited the country and the Taliban regained power. The crisis has been compounded by natural calamities including earthquakes.
“Acute malnutrition among children is soaring. Last year we saw the highest surge ever recorded in Afghanistan, and this year, a staggering 3.7 million children will need malnutrition treatment,” the World Food Programme’s Country Director John Aylieff told a Geneva press briefing.
Some 200,000 additional children face acute malnutrition this year, he added.
Funding cuts mean the UN agency only has the resources to treat one in every four children needing treatment for acute malnutrition, Aylieff said.
Others do not even have the means to reach clinics, he said, voicing concerns that some are trapped by snowfall in remote highland areas.
Most children who die in Afghanistan do so “during the winter... at home silently,” he said.
“What I fear is when the snow is melted at the end of March or in April, we will find there has been a very high toll of child deaths in the villages.”
Expulsion policies in neighboring Pakistan and Iran have resulted in over 5 million returnees since late 2023, further straining limited resources, Aylieff said.
Many of those returning to Afghanistan are close to areas where Pakistani and Afghan troops have clashed in recent days, forcing WFP to suspend some services there.
“We foresee that acute malnutrition will be driven up further by the conflict as people are prevented from accessing health services,” imperilling tens of thousands of children, said Aylieff.
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