Pagpapalakas sa puwersa ng Armed Forces of the Philippines ang pangunahing rason ng pagdadagdag ng apat na lugar na pagtatayuan ng Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement sa pagitan ng Pilipinas at Amerika.
Ayon kay National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, walang ibang layunin sa pagtatayo ng EDCA sites kung hindi ang maprotektahan ang teritoryo ng Pilipinas.
“It is meant to develop and strengthen the capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to enable it to protect and defend the territory of the Philippines and is not meant to contain or counter any nation,” pahayag ni Año.
“The Philippines is concerned about improving its defense capability, modernizing our equipment and assets, and developing our infrastructure. These are the primary reasons why we are increasing our security cooperation with the United States,” dagdag ng opisyal.
Sinabi pa ni Año na ang mga napiling EDCA sites ay base sa Strategic Basing Plan ng AFP.
“The identified EDCA sites are Philippine bases which we want to develop based on the requirements for strategic basing and development of the AFP. These were not US-dictated but identified by our armed forces,” pahayag ni Año.
Una nang naglaan ang Amerika ng $82 milyong pondo para sa infrastructure projects sa limang orihinal na EDCA sites. Ito ay ang Basa Air Base sa Pampanga, Fort Magsaysay sa Nueva Ecija, Lumbia Air Base sa Cagayan de Oro, Bautista Air Base sa Palawan, at Mactan-Benito Air Base sa Cebu.
Binisita na ni US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall ang Basa Air Base sa Pampanga kung saan maglalagak ang Amerika ng $24 milyong pondo para sa pag-upgrade sa 2.8 kilometer runway.
“By developing our military and base infrastructure, we are pursuing our national interest and actually contributing to regional peace and stability. We hope that our neighbors in the region will see this as positive contribution towards peace and stability in the region,” pahayag ni Kendall.