[Marcos] remarks came on the heels of China's third day of war games around Taiwan on Monday, where it simulated "sealing off" the self-ruled island.

The President also echoed previous statements by the Philippine and US defence ministries, saying the expansion of EDCA is also meant for humanitarian and relief operations during disasters.[...] Exercise Balikatan 2023 [11-28 April]

Approximately 5,400 AFP personnel and 12,200 [!] U.S. military personnel will train shoulder-to-shoulder, developing interoperability and improved capability in the areas of maritime security, amphibious operations, live-fire training, urban and aviation operations, cyber defense, counterterrorism, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness.

will be held in key areas around the Philippines, including Zambales, a coastal province near the South China Sea.

Washington and Tokyo reportedly plan to launch a three-way dialogue with Manila involving their respective national security advisers as early as this month.

Bernadette Ellorin is the national spokesperson for the U.S. Chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or Bayan USA, an anti-[Marcos] alliance of thirty-three Filipino grassroots organizations across the United States.

"To date, the U.S. allocated a total of over 100 million U.S. dollars to EDCA projects," [PH] Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said yesterday during an inquiry of the [PH] Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Sen. Imee Marcos, the Senate foreign affairs panel chairperson and the president's sister, further grilled defense and foreign affairs officials at the hearing, saying that the selection of four new sites for US military installations seemed to be "random and no longer purposeful with regard to the modernization of the (Armed Forces of the Philippines.)"

After a senior defense official said the sites were chosen to address a defense "vulnerability" in the country's north, which is close to Taiwan, the senator replied: "In the north? I come from the north, sir. I don't feel very vulnerable. Our fishermen in Cagayan and the Ilocos sea are not being harassed by anyone."