A US congressional commission has recommended allowing Taiwan to fund infrastructure upgrades at Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement sites in the Philippines. The proposal aims to bolster Washington's capacity to defend the self-ruled island against a potential Chinese invasion. Funding would cover infrastructure and support services, not weapons, through the US Foreign Military Sales program.
In a report released earlier this week, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission urged Congress to direct the State Department to establish an arrangement allowing Taiwan to pay for infrastructure upgrades and support services at EDCA sites in Luzon and Palawan. Established in 2000, the commission advises lawmakers on China policy issues.
According to the report, Taiwan's funding would support projects in the Philippines, along with similar efforts in Japan's southwestern islands and Pacific Island nations that recognize Taipei, to strengthen the US regional posture and deterrence capacity around Taiwan. 'Through this initiative, Taiwan would fund projects in third countries, ultimately benefiting its own security,' the report stated.
'Such investments would make sense for Taipei because they are directly related to the US ability to defend Taiwan, if the political decision was made to do so,' Randall Schriver, the commission's vice chairperson, was quoted as saying in a Nikkei Asia report. Schriver, a former assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said using the Foreign Military Sales program would provide 'political cover' to Taiwan, which may not want to be seen as directly spending to upgrade a Philippine base.
The recommendation for Taiwan is one of 28 proposals in the commission's annual report to Congress. It also includes calls to help the Philippines counter China's 'military aggression and malign influence,' such as prioritizing the Philippine Coast Guard in foreign military financing, establishing a 'Quad Plus' mechanism, cybersecurity assistance, and investments in shipbuilding with partners like Japan and South Korea.
EDCA is a 2014 agreement that allows the US to rotate troops through select Philippine bases and build facilities like warehouses, runways, and fuel storage there. The sites remain Philippine-owned, but the pact expands US troops' access for joint training. There are currently nine EDCA sites nationwide: Basa Air Base in Pampanga, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro City, Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan, Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu, Naval Base Camilo Osias in Sta. Ana in Cagayan, Lal-lo Airport also in Cagayan, Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu in Isabela, and Balabac Island in Palawan. Four of the nine sites were opened under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has chosen to widen the US footprint amid rising tensions with China in the South China Sea.
Both Manila and Washington frame EDCA as essential to rapid disaster response and regional deterrence. But it has faced criticism from human rights defenders who warn that increased US military presence could further inflame tensions with China, besides concerns over sovereignty and social costs from the continued presence of American soldiers.