Philippines expands US access to military bases

The United States and the Philippines announced a deal to give US troops access to another four bases in the Southeast Asian nation, as the longtime allies seek to counter China's military rise.

The agreement to expand cooperation in "strategic areas of the country" was made during a visit by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

It comes as the countries seek to repair ties that were fractured in recent years -- previous Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte favoured China over his country's former colonial master, but the new administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr has been keen to reverse that.

"The Philippines and the United States are proud to announce their plans to accelerate the full implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the agreement to designate four new Agreed Locations in strategic areas of the country," defence officials said in a joint statement.

The two countries have a decades-old security alliance that includes a mutual defence treaty and the 2014 EDCA pact, which allows US troops to rotate through five Philippine bases, including those near disputed waters.

It also allows the US military to store defence equipment and supplies on those bases.

The EDCA stalled under Duterte, but Marcos has sought to accelerate its implementation.

Under its expansion, the United States will have access to at least nine military bases across the archipelago.