The United States may seek access to more military bases in the Philippines under a joint defense agreement between the two countries, the chief of the US Indo-Pacific command said on Thursday.
The Philippines has this year increased the number of bases accessible to the US military from five to nine, a move that has riled regional power China, which sees the arrangement as provocative and likely to raise tensions.
Aquilino added that they are in discussion about the possible more EDCA sites but it is still subject for the approval of their "bosses." For the already approved EDCA sites, Aquilino said they added 63 projects to the 32 existing projects. He added that the US identified investments of almost $110 million for these.The closer US defense ties with the Philippines after a period of decline has caused concern in China that Washington has Taiwan in mind in its efforts to boost its military presence in the region.