CNN —
The US military will gain access to four more bases in the Philippines under an agreement announced during a visit by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to Manila on Thursday.
In addition, the two allies said projects at five bases already included in the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) are nearing completion.
“EDCA is a key pillar of the US-Philippine alliance that supports combined training, exercises and interoperability between our armed forces. The expansion of EDCA will make our alliance stronger and more resilient, and accelerate the modernization of our combined military capabilities,” read a joint announcement.
The announcement did not specify the location of the bases to which the US military will gain new access.
It said only that the new locations “will provide faster support for humanitarian and climate-related disasters in the Philippines and respond to other common challenges,” without specifying what those challenges are.
Several U.S. defense officials told CNN earlier this week that Washington is trying to expand its access to bases in the Philippines with a view toward China, as part of an ongoing shift in troop postures in the Indo-Pacific region.