Following the announcement of four additional sites for the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), the US Department of Defense reiterated that America is "not seeking permanent basing" in the Philippines.

"We're not seeking permanent basing here. So you're going to see an increase of rotational forces in the region, but this is more about supporting combined training, being able to respond to natural disaster, humanitarian disasters in the region but this is really about regional readiness," Sabrina Singh, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary said in a press briefing on Monday.

When asked how the additional EDCA sites will help the US to respond to its contingency in the Taiwan Strait, Singh stressed that "this is more about regional response, regional readiness".

"This is an arrangement that we have with the Philippines that goes back many years. And is an investment in our cooperation with the Philippines in order to better, for better interoperability," she said.

"But it's not just about the region, also for our forces to be able to spawn to any type of disasters, whether it be natural or humanitarian. So, this is about, you know, again, we do not seek permanent basing in the Philippines and this is just one additional aspect that will increase training between our two countries," she added.

The four new sites of EDCA were Naval Base Camilo Osias in Santa Ana, Cagayan, Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela, Balabac Island in Palawan, and Lal-lo Airport in Cagayan. This was announced by the US and Philippine government on Tuesday.

"One of them is an airport expansion but some of these sites would include areas to further our training, which would of course include naval assets, but I think what's most important is that the expansion of EDCA just makes our training with the Philippines just more resilient," Singh said.

"It is about creating regional readiness but also being able to respond to any type of disaster or any type of humanitarian disaster that could arise in the region," she added. Robina Asido/DMS