MANILA: Philippine and US military officials said on Thursday they may look to further expand areas covered in their joint defense agreement, which could give Washington more access to bases in the Philippines at a time when tensions are simmering in the South China Sea.
Manila granted the US entry to four more bases in strategic areas of the Philippines earlier this year, a move that riled Beijing as it gives Washington access to a total of nine military sites in the country under their 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
The four new bases are situated in strategic locations, with three of the sites facing north toward Taiwan and one near an island in the disputed South China Sea.
US Indo-Pacific Command head Adm. John Aquilino said he and the Philippines’ military chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. have discussed the possibility of expanding the number of bases US forces could access.
“Gen. Brawner and I may make recommendations to our senior leaders for the consideration of additional sites, but there’s still work to do there before we get to that answer,” Aquilino told reporters after their meeting on Thursday. “We are in discussions.”
Ranking military officials led by Aquilino and Brawner were inspecting two of the four new EDCA sites on Wednesday, where various work is underway, including building a pier and repairing an airstrip.
The US has allocated over $100 million to develop sites in the Philippines, with over 90 projects having already been approved in the new locations.
“We are just opening this up for shared use with our counterpart, with our only ally the United States, because we believe that doing certain things together would bring more value,” Brawner said.
Some of the bases could be designed specifically for joint training, he said, while adding that locations of the sites agreed upon under EDCA have “nothing to do with other countries in the Indo-Pacific region.”
Brawner said: “What we are interested in really is to promote the interest of the Philippines. So the choices of the EDCA sites, for instance, are primarily because of considerations for humanitarian assistance and disaster response.”
The site visit this week “signifies our commitment to further strengthen our cooperation, ensuring that both militaries are prepared and well equipped to respond to evolving security challenges and humanitarian crises,” he added.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has said that granting the US access to more military bases in his country was not intended for “any offensive action.”
The Philippines’ western command flagged concerns on Thursday over a “resurgence” of Chinese fishing vessels “swarming” in waters around the Spratly Islands inside Manila’s exclusive economic zone, following a series of similar encounters in the area in recent months.
The Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian in April accused Manila of fueling geopolitical tension in the Asia-Pacific.
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Philippines, US discuss expanding military base access
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Philippines, US discuss expanding military base access
- Manila gave Washington access to 4 new military bases earlier this year under joint defense pact
- Philippines’ military chief says location of bases was selected for disaster response, humanitarian crisis
Taiwan to send team to assess US rare earth deposits
TAIPEI: Taiwan plans to send officials to assess US rare earths deposits with a goal to have such minerals refined on the island, Economy Minister Kung Ming-hsin said on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump’s administration has stepped up efforts to secure US supplies of critical minerals after China rattled senior officials and global markets last year by withholding rare earths required by American automakers and other industrial manufacturers.
Trump last week launched a US strategic stockpile of critical minerals, called Project Vault, backed by $10 billion in seed funding from the US Export-Import Bank and $2 billion in private funding.
While semiconductor powerhouse Taiwan is not formally part of that scheme, it has previously held talks with the United States on how it can help, given Taipei’s concerns about over-reliance on a China-centric supply chain.
China views Taiwan as its own territory and has stepped up its military threats.
Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Kung said the ministry’s Geological Survey and Mining Management Agency would go to the United States to assess rare earths deposits there.
“Specifically, what rare-earth elements they contain and whether they are suitable. In other words, whether those are the rare earths we actually need. So we still need to investigate,” he said.
Given Taiwan does not mine such elements itself, it can instead play a role in refining the materials from other countries, Kung added.
“The technology is not an issue; the next step is scaling up,” he said.
Taiwan consumes 1,500 metric tons of rare earth annually, a figure projected to rise to 2,000 metric tons given economic growth, Kung added.
“Our goal is to expand production capacity to meet half of our demand by then, strengthening the supply chain.
President Donald Trump’s administration has stepped up efforts to secure US supplies of critical minerals after China rattled senior officials and global markets last year by withholding rare earths required by American automakers and other industrial manufacturers.
Trump last week launched a US strategic stockpile of critical minerals, called Project Vault, backed by $10 billion in seed funding from the US Export-Import Bank and $2 billion in private funding.
While semiconductor powerhouse Taiwan is not formally part of that scheme, it has previously held talks with the United States on how it can help, given Taipei’s concerns about over-reliance on a China-centric supply chain.
China views Taiwan as its own territory and has stepped up its military threats.
Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Kung said the ministry’s Geological Survey and Mining Management Agency would go to the United States to assess rare earths deposits there.
“Specifically, what rare-earth elements they contain and whether they are suitable. In other words, whether those are the rare earths we actually need. So we still need to investigate,” he said.
Given Taiwan does not mine such elements itself, it can instead play a role in refining the materials from other countries, Kung added.
“The technology is not an issue; the next step is scaling up,” he said.
Taiwan consumes 1,500 metric tons of rare earth annually, a figure projected to rise to 2,000 metric tons given economic growth, Kung added.
“Our goal is to expand production capacity to meet half of our demand by then, strengthening the supply chain.
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