Ongoing MDT talks do not include add'l EDCA sites — DND chief

The ongoing talks between the Philippines and the United States (US) about expanding their Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) do not include the installation of additional Enhanced Defense Cooperation (EDCA) sites, which some fear will only provoke China to continue making dangerous maneuvers in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. confirmed this on Thursday before the House Committee on Appropriations in response to Gabriela Partylist Rep. Arlene Brosas' concern that the plan to broaden the definition of the defense pact under the MDT may involve stretching US' access to more military bases in the Philippines.

"No, your honor. This [does] not entail additional EDCA sites because we are sticking to the nine EDCA facilities," Teodoro told the panel, scrutinizing the DND's P2.24 billion proposed budget for fiscal year 2025. 

"But it entails perhaps interoperable measures to address China's creative and varied tactics on a defense-to-defense level," he continued. 

Signed in 2014, EDCA is a pact between the Philippines and the US that deepens the defense cooperation of the MDT.

China had earlier raised concerns about the Philippines giving expanded military access to the US, its biggest rival. 

Brosas expressed concern that interoperable measures may further heighten the risk of a military confrontation, with the Philippines potentially becoming a pawn in the power struggle between the giants US and China.

"The military alliances that provoke aggression, we don't want that either, Mr. Chair. The protection we need, the treaties made by the government, should not drag us into the war," Brosas said.

Teodoro replied, "I think that is the same concern. However, we have to point out that the aggressor here is only one actor."

"That's why I said that China is the greatest disruptor of peace in the West Philippines Sea [because] they have illegally reclaimed areas, they are claiming areas which [are] well beyond their jurisdiction," Teodoro added, noting that this includes Sabina Shoal, which is only 60 nautical miles away from Palawan.

Expanded treaty

The Philippines and the US are bound by the 1951 MDT, which can be invoked in the event of an armed attack on Philippine forces, public vessels, or aircraft of an external party.

However, the term "armed attack" under Articles IV and V of the MDT was not clearly defined, prompting Teodoro to call for a broader interpretation of the treaty. 

"Nothing will be changed in MDT. It's just we don't want to get canalized on an interpretation on attack of the armed vessel. This is more for strategic purposes because China uses a non-lawful and system of aggression, which a static interpretation and static processes will not address," Teodoro clarified to lawmakers.

According to the Defense chief, the Philippines needs to fortify its alliance with other nations, including with the US, in the face of violent confrontations between Filipino troops and China in the West Philippine Sea, not to mention Beijing's use of flares on the Philippine Air Force and ramming Philippine vessels. 

"There are other ways that China does what is supposedly what we know is illegal. For example, the use of maritime militias, CCG (Chinese Coast Guard) vessels, which [are] actually naval vessels. So, this kind of environment is an environment where we cannot work within set parameters. We have to work with our allies and partners to address an evolving threat," Teodoro told lawmakers. 

While the DND has yet to make specific revisions to the treaty, Teodoro underscored the need to restudy it to make it "more dynamic to address threats that we may not even foresee."

"For example, cyber threats, madam chair, and other threats that China, which knows no rules, may employ," he pointed out.

Teodoro also refuted claims that the plan to amend or revise the Philippines-US treaty may further trigger the country's maritime dispute with China, which might be seen as a threat.

"What does China expect from us if we don't stabilize ourselves with the help of others? Whether we do it or not, they will continue [their provocation] because China wants world domination under a new model of international governance, which is a guise for their hegemony," the DND chief lamented.

He continued, "They are either dynastic and imperialistic politics. For us, we are just establishing our credible deterrent posture. We have no intention of claiming our own nine-dash line in the South China Sea (SCS)."

"What we want is our 200 nautical exclusive economic zone, other areas where we have jurisdiction to be exclusively for the benefit of our citizens the way we want to do it, the way congress wants to it without the pressure of China dictating and bear hugging us to deal them solely. That's all we want," Teodoro asserted.

China has territorial claims in nearly the entire SCS, which overlaps the WPS, notwithstanding a 2016 arbitral ruling that deemed its sovereignty assertion baseless. The ruling affirmed the Philippines' 200-nautical mile exclusive EEZ in the WPS.