Philippines announces the use of four more military locations by American forces.

The Philippines announced Monday the location of four additional military bases to be used by US troops, with one site near the hotly disputed South China Sea and another not far from Taiwan. The 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, known as the EDCA, gave US forces access to five bases in the Philippines, but the locations of the four additional bases were withheld until Monday while the government consulted with local officials. Three of the sites are in the northern Philippines, including a naval base and airport in Cagayan province and an army camp in the neighbouring province of Isabela. Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba has publicly opposed having EDCA sites in his province, but Philippine acting defence chief Carlito Galvez said the government had "already decided" on the sites and that Mamba had agreed to "abide with the decision". The agreement allows US troops to rotate through the bases and store defence equipment and supplies at them. Beijing has been critical of the agreement, which its embassy in the Philippines said recently was part of "US efforts to encircle and contain China through its military alliance with this country".