Gibo: EDCA sites logistics, not offensive operations
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the nine sites under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) are intended for logistics and cannot be used by the United States to launch offensive military operations in the event of a conflict between China and Taiwan.
Teodoro’s statement comes amid heightened regional tensions, with China continuing to assert its claims over the South China Sea and refusing to rule out the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory, while the island’s government rejects the claim and maintains its right to determine its own future.
The geographic proximity of northern Luzon to Taiwan has added strategic significance to the nine EDCA sites, particularly the facilities in Cagayan.
The United States and the Philippines have expanded military cooperation as both countries strengthen their defense posture in the region. “Those are merely logistics sites,” Teodoro said.
Two EDCA sites are in Cagayan: Lal-lo Airport and Naval Base Camilo Osias. The other seven are Antonio Bautista Air Base and Balabac Island in Palawan; Basa Air Base in Pampanga; Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu; Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija; Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro City; and Camp Melchor dela Cruz in Isabela.
“They (Americans) are not allowed to launch offensive operations from not just the EDCA sites but any part of the Philippines because that is forbidden under our Constitution,” Teodoro said.
He added that US forces could establish facilities at the sites to preposition equipment and other assets for territorial defense and disaster response.
Teodoro also cited the 1987 Constitution’s declaration that the Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy.
On the proposed establishment of an EDCA site in Batanes, Teodoro said expanding Philippine military facilities was necessary but questioned whether the province could accommodate one.
“Philippine bases have to be really expanded. But if it will be an EDCA site, I don’t know because it has limited space,” he said, citing constraints involving the province’s airport and pier.
China has intensified military activities around Taiwan, raising concerns that a blockade or invasion could trigger a wider conflict involving the United States.
Washington supplies Taiwan with defensive weapons and maintains a policy of strategic ambiguity, meaning it has not explicitly guaranteed that it would intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.