Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin meets with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila, July 29, 2021. DoD Photo
MANILA – The Duterte administration has re-committed to the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) basing deal that would let U.S. forces operate from the Philippines after a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Read More
USS Wasp (LHD-1) makes a port visit to Subic Bay, the Philippines in support of Exercise Balikatan 2019 on April 1, 2019. US Navy Photo
MANILA — The U.S. and the Philippines are set to reinforce a contentious agreement allowing U.S. troops to operate from the island nation as tensions with China remain high, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said during a pre-State of the Nation Address forum on Wednesday. Read More
An MV-22B Osprey with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 262 flies over the landscape during exercise KAMANDAG 3 near Subic Bay, Philippines, Oct. 12, 2019. US Marine Corps Photo
For a second time, the Philippine government has paused plans to terminate part of its Mutual Defense Treaty with the U.S. Read More
USS Wasp (LHD-1) makes a port visit to Subic Bay, the Philippines in support of Exercise Balikatan 2019 on April 1, 2019. US Navy Photo
The Philippine government is putting the brakes on its plan to end a critical aspect of its Mutual Defense Treaty with the U.S., but experts say it is too soon to tell whether this decision signals a warming relationship between the two allies.
Civil service mariners from USNS Sacagawea train with Marines by connecting a HUMVEE to a MV-22 Osprey in the Philippines in 2013. US Navy Photo
Over the weekend, the United States and the Philippines concluded their Sixth Annual Bilateral Security Dialogue session in Washington, D.C. At that forum, one of the first fruits of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) came to bear: the announcement of five bases where the United States could rotate troops and pre-position facilities and materials in support of the U.S. Pacific Pivot. Read More
