Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement

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For more than a century, the Philippines has been important to American defense strategy. Currently, the Philippines is a "major non-NATO ally" of the United States.[9]

The U.S. acquired the Philippines from Spain after the Spanish–American War of 1898 and then fought the Philippine–American War against Philippine revolutionaries to secure their rule. After both wars, the Philippines was a territory of the United States from 1898 to 1946. The United States granted the Philippines independence in 1946.[10]

The Mutual Defense Treaty was signed in 1951 and ratified in 1952 by the governments of the United States and the Philippines. The purpose of the Treaty was to "strengthen the fabric of peace" in the Pacific, by formally adopting an agreement to defend each other's territory in the case of external attack.[11] In line with this treaty, the United States maintained several military bases in the Philippines, including Subic Bay Naval Base and the Clark Air Base. In 1992, the bases closed after the Philippine Senate rejected, by a close vote, a treaty that would have extended the bases' lease. The treaty was rejected because of U.S. reluctance to set a firm time frame for troop withdrawal and to guarantee that no nuclear weapons would pass through the base.[12]

The Philippines–United States Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) was signed by the governments of the Philippines and the United States in 1998, and came into effect in 1999. This was the first military agreement since the closing of U.S. bases in 1992. The VFA outlined a set of guidelines for the conduct and protection of American troops visiting the Philippines. The Agreement also stipulated the terms and conditions for American military to pass through or land in Philippine territory. The VFA is a reciprocal agreement in that not only does it outline the guidelines for U.S. troops visiting the Philippines but also for Philippine troops visiting the United States.[13]

The signing of the VFA led to the establishment of annual bilateral military exercises between the U.S. and the Philippine known as Balikatan, as well as a variety of other cooperative measures.[14] The Balikatan training exercises ("shoulder-to-shoulder") are annual military exercises between the U.S. and the Philippines. They are structured to maintain and develop the security relationship between the two countries' armed forces through crisis-action planning, enhanced training to conduct counterterrorism operations, and promoting interoperability of the forces.[15]

Over the years the exercises have expanded to include other surrounding countries in Southeast Asia. These training exercises have also had a shifting focus. During the U.S.-led "War on Terror" the annual Balikatan Exercises focused on training for counterterrorism missions.[15] In 2012, the seal of the United States Embassy in Manila was defaced by student activists to protest the exercises.[16]

U.S. Marines assist in Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts, November 2013

Disaster relief and crisis response have since become important focuses for the U.S.–Philippine security relationship and a key impetus of the EDCA agreement.[17] The United States Marines were among the first to arrive in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines on November 8, 2013. At the immediate request of the Philippine government, U.S. and international relief agencies arrived three days after the storm to provide aid and assistance to the thousands of injured and homeless.[18] The United States government provided over $37 million in aid.[19]

According to Ambassador Goldberg, the goal of the EDCA is to "promote peace and security in the region." While outlining new defense-cooperation measures, the agreement also allows for the United States to respond more quickly to environmental and humanitarian disasters in the region.[20]

Designed to supplement the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty and the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement, the EDCA reaffirms mutual cooperation between the United States and the Philippines to develop their individual and collective capacities to resist armed attack by: improving interoperability of the two country's armed forces, promoting long-term modernization, helping maintain and develop maritime security, and expanding humanitarian assistance in response to natural disasters.[21]

The agreement allows for U.S. forces and contractors to operate out of "agreed locations" (see Agreed Locations section below). Although no specific locations are given in the main body of the initial Agreement, they are defined as: "facilities and areas that are provided by the Government of the Philippines through the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and that United States forces, United States contractors, and others as mutually agreed, shall have the right to access and use pursuant to this Agreement".[21] The Agreement "codifies the conditions of limited military cooperation between the Philippines and the United States."[21] It hands over all operational controls of these "Agreed Locations" to the United States, and allows U.S. forces to pre-position and store defense materiel, equipment, and supplies. The Agreement makes clear that this materiel cannot include nuclear weapons.[12]

The EDCA is effective for an initial period of ten years, and thereafter, it shall continue in force automatically unless terminated by either Party by giving one year's written notice through diplomatic channels of its intention to terminate the agreement (Article XII, Sec. 4 of EDCA). While the U.S. forces may exercise operational control, put troops and equipment, construct facilities, and be accommodated in certain agreed locations, the Philippines shall still retain ownership of the agreed locations (Article V, Sec. 1 of EDCA). Importantly, the United States is not allowed to establish any permanent military bases, and must hand over any and all facilities in the "agreed locations" to the Philippine government upon the termination of the agreement.[22]

The agreement also stipulates that the U.S. is not allowed to store or position any nuclear weapons on Philippine territory.[2]

In April 2015, the United States government asked for access to eight bases in the Philippines, including the formerly American Subic Bay Naval Base, and Clark Air Base, as well as locations in Luzon, Cebu, and Palawan.[23]

On 19 March 2016, the Philippines and the United States government agreed on 5 locations of military bases for the American troops under the EDCA:[24]

• Antonio Bautista Air Base (Palawan)
• Basa Air Base (Pampanga)
• Benito Ebuen Air Base (Cebu)
• Fort Magsaysay (Nueva Ecija)
• Lumbia Airport (Cagayan de Oro)

The implementation of EDCA faced delays during the June 30, 2016 – June 30, 2022 term of president Rodrigo Duterte, who repeatedly expressed his disdain for the United States.[25] However, on 30 January 2019, the United States and the Philippines officially activated the first major project under EDCA. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and US Ambassador Sung Kim led the ribbon-cutting ceremony of a human assistance and disaster relief warehouse at Basa Air Base in the province of Pampanga.[26]

In November 2022, the Department of National Defense released a statement saying, "The Department is committed to accelerate the implementation of the Edca by concluding infrastructure enhancement and repair projects, developing new infrastructure projects at existing Edca locations, and exploring new locations that will build a more credible mutual defense posture". This will allow US troops to stay in the country for an extended period. Five additional locations were being considered, one each in the provinces of Palawan, Zambales, and Isabela, and two in the province of Cagayan.[27]

On 2 February 2023, four additional locations of military bases were designated under the EDCA.[28] On 3 April 2023, the locations of the four new EDCA sites were announced:[29]

• Balabac Island (Palawan)
• Camp Melchor Dela Cruz (Gamu, Isabela)
• Lal-lo Airport (Lal-lo, Cagayan)
• Naval Base Camilo Osias (Santa Ana, Cagayan)

The governors of Isabela and Cagayan, which together host three of the bases, expressed dismay at the agreement, stating they had not been consulted on the sites and did not want their provinces to pay too much for the infrastructure improvements or become potential targets of Chinese nuclear attack.[30]

• Balikatan
• Mutual Defense Treaty (United States–Philippines)

• Full text of "Document: Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement" on Philippine Government's Official Gazette at gov.ph.
• Q & A on Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement on Philippine Government's Official Gazette at gov.ph.