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US, Philippines to Resume Defense Projects Under Military Pact

Bloomberg
·1-min read
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Philippines Secretary of National Defense, Delfin N. Lorenzana (L), stand at attention outside of the Pentagon during an honor cordon ahead of their meeting in Washington, DC on September 10, 2021. ((Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Philippines Secretary of National Defense, Delfin N. Lorenzana (L), stand at attention outside of the Pentagon during an honor cordon ahead of their meeting in Washington, DC on September 10, 2021. ((Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) (MANDEL NGAN via Getty Images)

By Clarissa Batino

The U.S. and the Philippines will resume defense projects after the Southeast Asian nation agreed to keep a military pact that President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to scrap, allowing both sides to boost longstanding alliance in the region.

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana met with his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin in Washington on Sept. 10 where the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to further enhance relations after Duterte in July agreed to keep the Visiting Forces Agreement, according to a statement on Saturday.

“Both sides agreed to work on a bilateral maritime framework that advances cooperation in the maritime domain, and to resume projects in approved Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement locations in the Philippines,” according to the statement released by the Philippines. The cooperation agreement or EDCA, signed in 2014, allows for a greater US presence at Philippine military bases and the construction of new facilities there.

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The defense secretaries also discussed developments in the South China Sea, with Austin reaffirming U.S. commitments under the seven-decade Mutual Defense Treaty. Both sides pledged “to keep the alliance ironclad.”

© 2021 Bloomberg L.P.