U.S. and Philippines Agree to a 10-Year Pact on the Use of Military Bases

Signing Of The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement

Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images

Philippine Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, left, and U.S. Ambassador to the Philipinnes Philip Goldberg shake hands after signing the enhanced defense cooperation agreement in Manila on April 28, 2014.

The United States has reached a 10-year agreement with the Philippines that will give American warships, planes and troops greater access to bases in the archipelago, American officials said Sunday.

The deal, which will be the centerpiece of President Obama’s visit to the Philippines on Monday, returns the United States to a visible presence in the country for the first time since the American military gave up its sprawling naval and air bases, including one at Subic Bay, in 1992.The accord will also give the United States more flexibility to project its military assets in a region that has become increasingly tense, with China and its neighbors, including the Philippines, squabbling over territorial claims in the East and South China Seas.

Still, administration officials said the deal was not intended to contain China.President Obama, with Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia, answered questions from youth leaders at the Malaysia Global Innovation and Creativity Center in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.Listening Post: In Malaysia, Obama Works to Mend Troubled TiesAPRIL 27, 2014
President Obama at a state dinner in Malaysia, one of four stops on his Asia tour, with King Abdul Halim and Queen Haminah.News Analysis: On a Trip That Avoids Beijing, Obama Keeps His Eye on ChinaAPRIL 26, 2014. “We’re not doing this because of China,” said Evan Medeiros, senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council. “We’re doing this because we have a longstanding alliance partner.”

The American military presence in the Philippines was a frequent source of tension between the countries, who are treaty allies. But the rapid response of American ships and planes after Typhoon Haiyan, amid a more chaotic Philippine response, has increased popular support for allowing the United States military to have more access.