THE US APPEARS TO BE PREPARING FOR WAR WITH CHINA

US Military Expansion

 

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February 3, 2023

 

                  

The deal was announced by the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, seen reviewing honour guards in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on Thursday. 

 

The United States announced an expansion of four additional military bases in the Philippines yesterday, strengthening US alliances in the region as tensions with China over Taiwan and the South China Sea continue. 

 

The agreement allocates $82M to upgrade the five existing military sites under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which supports combined military training and exercises. Beijing has increasingly claimed strategic areas of the South China Sea, including areas Manila claims as its own.

 

The announcement fills the US alliance along the South Pacific geographic arc, stretching from South Korea and Japan to Australia (see map). The exact locations of the new bases have not been disclosed, but it is believed the US is seeking three locations in the north near Taiwan and one in the south near the South China Sea.

 

In addition, the nonpermanent sites will ensure the availability of US troops to assist the Philippines in humanitarian and natural disasters. 

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: "I have a retired cop friend who moved to the Philippines, bought land on a mountain top and built a house.  His retirement goes a long way over there.  He is cultivating his land and has neighbors assisting with the planting, harvest and selling of fruits and vegetables.  He wears sandals, a goofy hat and has a nice-looking lady friend.  He's on FB." - Trey Rusk