THE United States and the Philippines yesterday announced that they agreed to designate four new locations in strategic areas to hasten the full implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

A statement released by the US Embassy in Manila said “Today, the Philippines and the United States are proud to announce their plans to accelerate the full implementation of the EDCA with the full agreement to designate four new Agreed Locations in strategic areas of the country and the substantial completion of the projects in the existing five Agreed Locations.”

The EDCA is a key pillar of the U.S.-Philippine Alliance, which supports combined training, exercises, and interoperability between our forces. Expansion of the EDCA will make our alliance stronger and more resilient, and will accelerate modernization of our combined military capabilities.

These new EDCA locations will allow more rapid support for humanitarian and climate-related disasters in the Philippines, and respond to other shared challenges.

The United States has allocated over $82 million toward infrastructure investments at the existing five sites under the EDCA, and is proud that these investments are supporting economic growth and job creation in local Philippine communities.

Both the United States and the Philippines have committed to move quickly in agreeing to the necessary plans and investments for the new and existing EDCA locations.

The U.S.-Philippine Alliance has stood the test of time and remains ironclad.

” We look forward to the opportunities these new sites will create to expand our cooperation together.,” the Embassy added.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Cristina Lee-Pisco