Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (INQUIRER / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE)
MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Thursday said that no nation has the right to question the Enhance Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) sites in the Philippines.
The Edca sites are inside the Philippine military bases in which the United States forces are allowed to rotate and store defense equipment and supplies.
“Edca, first and foremost, is Philippine base. All countries in the world build bases. We do not question the bases being built by other countries except when they are being built on contested territory,” Teodoro said in a chance interview during his visit to Lal-lo, Cagayan, where an Edca site is located.
“This is Philippine territory, and it is our business what we do here just as long as it is for Philippine interest, and here, the United States and we converge in our intended use for this, and it is not any other countries’ business to question what we do here,” Teodoro added.
China has earlier questioned the new Edca sites, particularly those relatively near Taiwan, saying the agreement was made so that Washington could “encircle and contain China” which would drag the Philippines into “the Taiwan question.”
In response, Teodoro said that the new Edca sites’ proximity in Taiwan is just a “geographical accident,” stressing that these locations are chosen with the country’s national interest in mind.
There are currently nine Edca sites in the country.
In April, Malacañang named the four new Edca sites — Camilo Osias Naval Base in Sta. Ana town and Lal-lo Airport in Lal-lo town, both in Cagayan province; Camp Melchor dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela and Balabac, the southernmost island in Palawan province.
Three of these new sites — those in Cagayan and Isabela — are relatively near Taiwan, a self-ruled island which China regards as a renegade province subject to reunification.
The five other Edca sites are Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan, which is closest to the Kalayaan Group of Islands; Basa Air Base in Pampanga, the home of the Philippine Air Force’s fighter planes; Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, the country’s largest military camp and a frequent location of Philippine-US military exercises; Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu and Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro City.
Teodoro said there is a need to fast track the development in all of these sites, particularly the four new ones.