Philippine President refuses to grant US access to additional local military bases

• China’s aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea prompted the move.
• Marcos emphasized that the presence of US troops was a reaction to China’s maneuvers in the South China Sea.
• He highlighted incidents such as collisions, the blocking of Filipino fishermen, and the placement of sea barriers to obstruct ships.

On Monday, the Philippine president declared that his administration does not intend to grant the United States access to additional Philippine military bases. He stressed that China’s aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea prompted the presence of American military personnel in several camps and sites thus far. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who assumed office in 2022, authorized American forces and weapons access to four additional Philippine military bases. This move increased the total number of sites where US troops can rotate indefinitely under a 2014 agreement to nine.

The Biden administration has been reinforcing an arc of security alliances in the region to enhance its ability to counter China, aligning with Philippine efforts to bolster its external defense, particularly in the South China Sea. China was alarmed by Marcos’ decision last year because two of the new sites were situated just across from Taiwan and southern China. China. Beijing accused the Philippines of furnishing American forces with staging grounds, which could potentially undermine its security.

“The Philippines has no plans to create any more bases or give access to any more bases,” Marcos said, without elaborating in response to a question during a forum with Manila-based foreign correspondents.

When asked if he was concerned that granting the US military access to Philippine bases had provoked Chinese actions in the South China Sea, Marcos responded that the presence of US troops was a reaction to China’s maneuvers.
“These are reactions to what has happened in the South China Sea, to the aggressive actions that we have had to deal with,” he said, mentioning Chinese coast guard vessels using water cannons and lasers to deter Philippine ships from the area Beijing claims as its own.

He also emphasized incidents such as collisions, the blocking of Filipino fishermen, and the placement of sea barriers to obstruct ships from Scarborough Shoal, which lies in the Philippine economic zone.  Under Marcos, the Philippines has implemented a strategy of publicizing these incidents by permitting journalists to board its patrol ships to observe China’s assertive actions.

“It is crucial that the media … continue to expose these actions that not only threaten the peace and stability of the region but also undermine the rules-based order that has underpinned global development and prosperity over the previous century,” Marcos said.

China has accused the Philippines of initiating the confrontations by intruding into what it claims were Chinese territorial waters and failing to honor an alleged agreement to remove an old Philippine navy ship, which currently functions as Manila’s territorial outpost in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal. Marcos stated that he was unaware of any such agreement and asserted that he considers it nullified — if it ever existed.

Last week, President Joe Biden reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to defend Pacific allies during a summit with Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House. He reiterated that the US should defend the Philippines in the event of an armed attack on its forces, aircraft, or ships.  When asked about the potential invocation of the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty between the US and the Philippines amid territorial hostilities between China and the Philippines, Marcos referenced Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who stated that it could occur “if any Filipino serviceman is killed in an attack by any foreign power.”

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