(Eagle News)–United States President Joe Biden is seeking $128 million in congressional allocation budget to execute projects for Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in the Philippines.
This was revealed by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to President Bongbong Marcos, who is in the US for a trilateral meeting cooperation with the US and Japan.
Austin made the remarks during his meeting with the Philippine leader in the Pentagon, a day after Marcos’ trilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden and Japan Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on Thursday afternoon (local time).
“President Biden’s new pleasant request seeks 128 million dollars to execute 36 projects and enhance defense cooperation agreement size and that would more than double the amount that we’ve invested in EDCA infrastructure,” Austin said.
He also reiterated President Biden’s assurance on the US’ commitment to the defense of the Philippines, which he described as ironclad.
He said an armed attack on the Philippine Armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific, including the South China Sea, will lead to the invocation of US defense commitments to the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).
“All these underscore the strength of our alliances further, and so I look forward to hearing your views on how we can keep working together more closely than ever, including through cooperation with like-minded partners,” he added.
The EDCA was signed between the Philippines and the US in 2014.
It was aimed at strengthening defense cooperation and advancing the implementation of the MDT by addressing capability gaps, particularly in humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR), promoting modernization and interoperability, and helping develop maritime security and maritime domain awareness.
According to the Philippine government, in 2016, the Philippines and the US agreed on five initial sites where both sides will construct facilities and preposition equipment.
The selection of the EDCA sites is in accordance with the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) Strategic Basing Plan, the Philippine government also said.