With the deal, Washington has stitched the gap in the arc of US alliances stretching from South Korea and Japan in the north to Australia in the south.
The missing link had been the Philippines, which borders two of the biggest potential flashpoints - Taiwan and the South China Sea.
The deal, which in part reverses the US' departure from their former colony more than 30 years ago, is no small matter.
"There is no contingency in the South China Sea that does not require access to the Philippines," says Gregory B Poling, director of the Southeast Asia programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"The US is not looking for permanent bases. It's about places, not bases."
The US already had limited access to five sites under the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) - the new additions and expanded access, according to a statement from Washington, will "allow more rapid support for humanitarian and climate-related disasters in the Philippines, and respond to other shared challenges", likely a veiled reference to countering China in the region.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64479712
USA vehkeilee Kiinaa vastaan.
https://huttunenpekka.blogspot.com/2022/03/2901-ylen-elisen-studion-pieni-moka.html
https://www.rand.org/blog/2021/05/china-has-lost-the-philippines-despite-dutertes-best.html
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2023/02/the-d-brief-february-02-2023/382496/
https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/philippines-political-map.htm
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| Kuva 1. Kiinan puolustus, StableDiffusion |
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