MANILA, Philippines - US President Barack Obama said a 10-year agreement signed on
Monday to give the US military greater access to Philippine bases will
help promote peace and stability in the region and that he hopes China’s
dominant power will allow its neighbours to prosper on their own terms. 
Signed as Obama arrived in Manila, the Enhanced Defence Cooperation
Agreement (EDCA) will give American forces temporary access to selected
military camps and allow them to preposition fighter jets and ships.
Although the deal is being perceived as a US effort to counter Chinese
aggression in the region, Obama said his message to Beijing is that
America wants to partner with China in upholding international law.
In a joint press conference with President Beningo Aquino, Obama said:
“The US is very supportive of President Benigno’s approach to seek
international arbitration that can resolve this in a diplomatic
fashion.”
- Obama’s overnight visit to the Philippines is the last stop on a week-long Asia tour that also included Japan, South Korea and Malaysia. At each stop along his tour, Obama reaffirmed the US treaty commitments to defend its Asian allies, including in their territorial disputes with China.
- He said in Manila that the US takes no specific position on those disputes, but believes China should resolve disputes with its neighbours the same way the US does — through dialogue.
When asked if the US would fight China in case the Philippines is
attacked due to overlapping claims in the South China Sea, Obama said,
“We don’t go around sending ships and threatening folks.”China, Taiwan, and Vietnam claim the whole of the South China Sea.
Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines claim some parts of the Spratly
Archipelago based on the provision of the United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea that grants countries 200 nautical miles exclusive
economic zones starting from their shores.
Source: Agencies
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