BBC Chinese recently reported that the U.S. has, through an agreement, gained access to four new military bases in the Philippines. These important sites will provide the U.S. military with a forward position to monitor Chinese activities in the South China Sea and around Taiwan. With the agreement, Washington has filled a gap in the U.S. chain of Pacific islands from South Korea and Japan to Australia in the south. That gap in the island chain used to be none other than the Philippines, which borders two of the biggest potential flashpoints, Taiwan and the South China Sea. According to the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) signed by the United States and the Philippines in 2014, the United States previously had limited access to five bases located in the Philippines. The new locations and expanded access will allow for more rapid support for humanitarian and climate-related disasters in the Philippines and to address other shared challenges. The White House did not disclose the locations of the new military bases, but three of them may be located on the island of Luzon on the northern edge of the Philippines. If China is not considered, this is the only large landmass close to Taiwan. This agreement to some extent reverses the situation in which the United States left its former colony more than 30 years ago, and the impact cannot be underestimated. However, the White House is seeking access to “light and flexible operations” sites that can resupply and monitor “as needed,” rather than military bases housing large numbers of troops.

Source: BBC Chinese, February 2, 2023
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world-64494506

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDQ: SINA) recently reported that the U.S. Air Force’s F-35A stealth fighter jets have been deployed for the first time at Thule Air Force Base, the northernmost U.S. military base in Greenland. In the region, the warplanes took part in a joint military exercise run by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) from January 15 to 31. Thule Air Force Base, 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle, was home to four F-35A stealth fighter jets. According to markings on one of the jets it showed that the planes were deployed at the  Alaska Eielson Air Force Base, which is another very important military base related to the Arctic. As Russia seeks to expand its influence in the Arctic region, Thule Air Base is playing an increasingly important strategic role. As for China, U.S. officials have been sounding the alarm about China’s “interest in the Arctic.” The U.S. media claimed that the deployment of the F-35 fighter jets and its ever-expanding concept of operations is largely to ensure “the dominance of the United States in the light of the potential Chinese threat and the Russian threat.” Given that competition for Arctic resources has increasingly become an important part of U.S. geopolitical interests, the U.S. will continue to strengthen its military presence in the Arctic region. Not long ago, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg claimed, during his visit to Canada, that Russia’s and China’s cooperation in the Arctic is not in the interests of NATO countries. The spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that NATO falsely claimed that the China-Russia cooperation poses a challenge to NATO’s values and interests, which once again exposed NATO’s attempt to export the Cold War mentality and to replicate confrontation between camps.

Source: Sina, February 1, 2023
https://mil.news.sina.com.cn/2023-02-01/doc-imyefnhe6749794.shtml