US, Philippines Agree on Base Rotations Along South China Sea

US Marines storming the beach (Pic Source: US DoD)

April 27 -- US forces would have access to at least eight bases in the Philippines -- including two near a hotly contested island group claimed by China -- under a new bilateral defense agreement, according to a Philippine media report.

Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gregorio Catapang told Manila's ABS-CBN News that during an October meeting, he and Pacific Command chief Adm. Samuel Locklear identified eight bases that the US would send troop rotations through. The rotations would happen in accordance with the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, a bilateral document signed last year that gives the US military the most access it has had since the Philippines ordered the US to leave its former bases in the 1990s.