China Concerned Over US Getting Access to 4 More Military Bases in Philippines

BEIJING (Sputnik) - China is concerned over the fact that the United States got access to four new military bases in the Philippines and views Washington as the biggest destabilizing actor in the region, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said on Thursday.

In early February, the US and the Philippines agreed to expand the US' access to four more military bases in the Philippines as part of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), thus, bringing the total number of EDCA sites to nine.

"China is closely following these tendencies and expresses serious concern over this. We have always believed that military and security cooperation between countries should contribute to the protection of peace and stability in the region and not be directed against the third parties or harm their interests," the spokesman told a briefing.

The US is constantly trying to increase its military presence in the region, which leads to the crisis of trust and tensions, according to Tan.

"It once again proves that the US is the most dangerous factor and the biggest source of chaos that increases regional tensions and undermines regional peace and stability," the spokesman added.

The United States and the Philippines signed the EDCA in 2014. It is the first substantial military agreement between the two countries since the 1990s. One of the deal's primary purposes is to counter China's growing influence in the South China Sea and ensure the availability of US troops in the country to help respond to natural disasters.