Philippines says US access to bases limited by land issues

MANILA, April 21 (Reuters) - ‌Philippine Defense ​Secretary ​Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday there has only been 'marginal' use of Philippine bases accessible ‌to the U.S. military due to land ⁠issues.

Treaty allies the Philippines and the United States have a ‌12-year-old Enhanced Defense Cooperation ‌Agreement that allows a rotational presence of American military in Philippine bases without establishing a permanent ​presence. In 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expanded the number of bases that the U.S. ⁠can use to nine, including areas that face Taiwan and the South ​China Sea.

Teodoro, however, said the development of these sites has been marred by delays, ​and noted that some of ‌the bases do not have an air force presence.

"The use of the EDCA ⁠sites has been marginal because some of these, we still have to settle the land and tenurial ⁠issues," Teodoro told broadcaster ABS-CBN in an interview.

"The delay has been ​difficult. We're slow on project execution," he added, without identifying specific bases where delays have occurred.

The disclosure comes on ‌the heels of annual military exercises between the Philippine and U.S. militaries. The ‌April 20 to May 8 exercises, called "Balikatan" or "shoulder-to-shoulder", will ⁠be the largest yet ‌with other participants ​including New Zealand, Canada, Japan, France and Australia.

(Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by John ‌Mair)

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