Philippines says US access to bases limited by land issues

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday ​there has only been "marginal" use of Philippine bases ‌accessible to the US military due to land issues, Report informs via Reuters.

Treaty allies the Philippines and the US have a 12-year-old ​Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement that allows a ​rotational presence of American military in Philippine bases ⁠without establishing a permanent presence. In 2023, President ​Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expanded the number of bases that the ​US can use to nine, including areas that face Taiwan and the South China Sea.

Teodoro, however, said the development of ​these sites has been marred by delays and ​noted that some of the bases do not have an air ‌force ⁠presence.

"The use of the EDCA sites has been marginal because some of these, we still have to settle the land and tenurial issues," Teodoro told ​broadcaster ABS-CBN ​in an interview.

"The ⁠delay has been difficult. We're slow on project execution," he added, without ​identifying specific bases where delays have occurred.

The ​disclosure ⁠comes on the heels of annual military exercises between the Philippine and US militaries. The April 20 to ⁠May ​8 exercises, called "Balikatan" or "shoulder-to-shoulder", will be ​the largest yet with other participants including New Zealand, Canada, Japan, France ​and Australia.