PH, US military officials inspect Basa Air Base in Pampanga

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BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — Philippine and American military officials inspected the Basa Air Base, one of the sites of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca), as part of the planning for next year’s war games that will see a “full-scale” battle simulation.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. and US Indo-Pacific Command (Indopacom) chief Adm. Samuel Paparo Jr. inspected the Basa Air Base in Pampanga province on Wednesday, the AFP said on Thursday.

AFP public affairs chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said the visit was part of the ongoing engagements under the Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB).

Asked if the visit has something to do with the possible use of Basa Air Base for next year’s Balikatan exercise, Trinidad told INQUIRER.net it is “possible, for the planning.”

“We have to remember, all of Edca sites are used for training purposes, and it is cleared by MDB-SEB,” he added.

Brawner and Paparo are currently in the Philippine Military Academy headquarters in Baguio City to continue their MDB-SEB engagements. It was held outside Metro Manila for the first time.

In May, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the Balikatan 2025 will simulate a “full-scale” battle scenario.

READ: 2025 Balikatan war games will simulate ‘full scale’ battle—Teodoro

Basa Air Base, home of the Philippine Air Force’s flagship FA-50 fighter jets, has infrastructure upgrades.

It includes the ₱1.73-billion (about USD 24 million) rehabilitation of the 2.8-kilometer Basa Air Base airstrip, the biggest Edca project in the Philippines so far.

With the re-asphalting and repairing of runway overruns, the airstrip is now ready for bigger and more powerful aircraft of Manila and Washington.

READ: Basa Air Base opens rehabbed runway in biggest-ever Edca project to date

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently announced that the United States is set to provide $500 million (P29.3 billion) in military and security support for the Philippines, a move he recently hailed as a “once-in a-generation investment.”

READ: US to allocate $500 million in foreign military financing for PH