The President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, has confirmed that the four new U.S. military bases soon to be created in his country will be »scattered» throughout its territory.
»There will be some in the north, some around Palawan, some further south. They will be to defend our east coast, but there is also the element of our continental shelf, it is something we have to take into account», he has detailed in declarations to the press, picked up by ‘Manila Times’, in response to China’s accusations, which assured that the United States is trying to »surround and contain» Beijing.
At the beginning of February, the United States informed that it will have four new military bases in the Philippines, where it will be able to build facilities to store and supply equipment after both countries agreed on the implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
This agreement came amid rising tensions in the region due to pressure from China in the South China Sea. Specifically, the Philippines and China are engaged in a territorial dispute over over overlapping claims in the South China Sea, where Beijing has seized areas and built artificial islands with military-capable facilities.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)