Alan Peter Cayetano raises US-China rivalry amid plans for more EDCA sites

Amid plans to establish more Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in the country, Former Foreign Affairs Secretary and now Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Friday said the Philippines could not disregard the rivalry between the United States and China.

“[Our country is at a ] crossroads, and the difficulty of navigating in being a cross road is the intensifying rivalry of US and China. While it cannot be the reason for our decision, we cannot also ignore that their rivalry affects us,” Cayetano said in an interview with reporters.

While he said that the training, anti-terroristm, non-traditional security arrangements with the US should be welcomed, Cayetano said that the EDCA sites in the northern part of the Philippines, which were near the Taiwan Strait, was a more sensitive issue.

“The reality is yung isyu ng Taiwan and their seeking independence. So I think mas sensitive ang issue in terms of EDCA arrangements in the north,” he said.

(The reality is there is Taiwan and their quest for independence. So I think that makes the EDCA arrangements in the north more sensitive.)

For Cayetano, the Philippines must look at its security in a dynamic way.

“Kasi parang ang binebenta parati sa Pinoy, closer to US and more facilities, more safer, pero may punto din si [former President Rodrigo] Duterte--kung mas marami kang weapons pero target ka, delikado ka rin,” he said.

(Filipinos are told that this brings us closer to the US and provides facilities, it improves our security. But former President Duterte had a point - having more weapons makes you a target, that still puts you in a dangerous situation.)

“Just like during the Cold War, ang iniiwasan natin magkamali. Wag tayo magkaroon ng irreparable na mistake that will cause a war…We are at a crossroad so we have to re-establish that relationship with the US, Australia, Japan, and Korea who have been faithful allies but we also have to learn to live with our biggest neighbor China,” he added.

(Just like during the Cold War, we're trying to avoid mistakes. Let's not commit an irreparable mistake that will cause a war...)

Cayetano mentioned the case of Singapore, which he said has been “effective in being neutral.”

According to Cayetano, 80 percent of investments in Singapore are from the US, but they are also close to China.

On Thursday, US Indo-Pacific command chief Admiral John Aquilino said he and the Philippines' military chief, General Romeo Brawner Jr., had discussed a further expansion in the number of bases US forces could access under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

Aquilino added that they were discussing the possibility of having more EDCA sites, but it was still subject to the approval of their "bosses."

This year, the Philippines increased the number of bases accessible to the US military from five to nine, a move that has riled regional power China, which sees the arrangement as provocative and likely to raise tensions. — DVM, GMA Integrated News