Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): The Philippines announced on Wednesday (April 20) that it will not allow the United States to store weapons in its military bases for use in Taiwan.
According to "Anatolia" news agency, Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo said: "The Philippines will not allow America to store weapons in our military bases for operations in Taiwan."
At the same time, Manila has approved four other military bases for joint use with Washington based on the defense cooperation agreement signed in 2014.
"We do not agree to any type of activity or even material that is inconsistent with these agreed upon activities," Manalo said.
Currently, the US and the Philippines jointly have five bases that allow the deployment of American troops in different areas of the Philippines. Manila is America's oldest ally in the region, as well as the largest recipient of aid, equipment and military training from the United States.
According to the order of "Ferdinand Marcos Jr.", the president of the Philippines, four new sites were put into the service of the country's army under the advanced defense cooperation agreement with the United States. Manila claims that the new arrangement between the Philippines and the United States will strengthen the country's response to natural disasters as the sites are used for humanitarian and emergency relief operations. In January, the Philippines agreed to allow the US military access to four other military bases in the country.
The military agreement between the Philippines and America is not for the permanent presence of American forces in this country. The United States plans to deploy its military forces in Luzon Island and its northwest, overlooking Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Recently, in a statement, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines warned the Philippines about military cooperation with the United States and said that this cooperation is in line with the geopolitical interests of the United States of America.