Nilinaw ng Estados Unidos na hindi sila interesado sa pagtatayo ng permanent base-militar sa Pilipinas.
Ito ang sinabi ni US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III kasunod ng anunsyo ng Department of National Defense (DND) at US Department of Defense na nagkasundo sila sa pagtatayo ng apat na karagdagang bagong lokasyon para sa pasilidad ng Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
“In terms of EDC locations, I just want to be clear that we are not seeking permanent basing in the Philippines, as you heard us say in our statements, EDCA is a collaborative agreement that enables rotational activities,”ayon kay Austin sa media briefing, matapos makipag pulong kay DND Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. noong Huwebes ng hapon, Pebrero 2.
Ayon sa kanya, ang EDCA locations na ito ay gagamitin para sa pagsasanay at oportunidad na palakasin ang interoperability ng Pilipinas at US forces.
“It also provides us the ability to respond effectively to humanitarian issues and also disaster relief and other types of crises, not just for the Philippines but for the regions we are at,” ayon pa rin kay Austin.
Sa nabanggit ding press conference, sinabi naman ni Galvez na ilalahad ang apat na bagong EDCA locations sa oras na matapos na nila ang konsultasyon sa mga lokal na komunidad kung saan ito ilalagay.
“The President wanted that all actions will be consulted with our local governments and wanted also to see that these agreements of the four EDCA sites will be finished, ” dagdag niya.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
