DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 13 June) – Former President Rodrigo Duterte has warned that the Philippines could become a “battleground” if the brewing tension between the United States and China progresses to war.
This after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. allowed the US access to military bases in the country under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), Duterte noted.
During his program “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa” streamed live over SMNI News on Monday, Duterte claimed that the US wants to establish a military presence in the Philippines with “an intention to make the country a buffer zone” to thwart Chinese forces or prevent them from advancing into the Pacific.
The former President, a known critic of Washington who pivoted to China during his term from 2016 to 2022, warned that the Philippines “would be caught in a crossfire if China would attack US military installations in the country,” once war breaks out between the two military superpowers.
The Marcos Jr. administration had granted the US access to the country’s Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Basa Air Base in Pampanga, Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan, Mactan-Benito Abuen Air Base in Cebu, and Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro.
“EDCA means soldiers and arms. That’s about it. It has nothing to do with economic grants or any other relationship between nations. It simply means the presence of foreign troops in our country,” he said.
Duterte noted that the relationship between US and China has been strained because of the issue on Taiwan.
The US and China have also been at odds over the issue on navigation in the South China Sea, where the Philippines has a claim.
In 2013, the Philippine government sued China before an international arbitral tribunal in The Hague regarding territories in the West Philippine Sea. The tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines in July 2016 when it junked China’s nine-dash claim over the South China Sea. Beijing rejected the ruling.
Duterte said the Philippines is an important “buffer zone” for the US, as the Chinese forces would need to move past US military installations in the Philippines before reaching US territories in the Pacific and on to the mainland.
Duterte said he believes the initial armed confrontation between the US and China could happen in the Philippines before the latter could even “entertain the idea of conquering the Marianas Island and Guam of the United States.”
He said that “war seems to be just around the corner,” particularly with the growing tension over Taiwan, which sought help from the US to thwart mainland China.
“Mainland China wants to take Taiwan back, but Taiwan is resisting and asked America to help them or help the island-country to resist the advances of mainland China,” Duterte said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
