Allowing the United States to access four more basing sites is not a direct military challenge to China, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos said Thursday. The decision to provide the U.S. with military bases closer to the self-governing island of Taiwan was not a driving force in Manila’s decision, Marcos said. During the negotiations over the new sites, the Biden administration never brought up the idea of using them as “staging areas” for offensive operations in support of Taiwan, Marcos said. Those operations would be “out of the parameters” of previous agreements between the allies. “The United States has never said … Continue reading New EDCA Sites Are Not a Response To China, Philippines President Says During Washington Visit