CHINA warned today that Washington was “endangering regional peace and stability” with a new deal expanding American troops’ access to bases in the Philippines.

“Out of self-interest, the US maintains a zero-sum mentality and continues to strengthen its military deployment in the region,” foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning said.

“The result will inevitably be increased military tension and endangering regional peace and stability.

“Countries in the region should think deeply about what is appropriate and what is mutually beneficial so as to make choices that are truly beneficial to their own interests and to regional peace and stability.”

The Philippines announced yesterday that the locations 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 long-time treaty allies agreed in February to expand cooperation in “strategic areas” of the Philippines as they seek to counter Beijing’s growing assertiveness over self-governed Taiwan and its construction of bases in the South China Sea.

The 2014 Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement gave US forces access to five Philippine bases.

It was later expanded to nine, but the locations of the four new bases were withheld until yesterday while the government consulted with local officials.

The four sites had been assessed by the Philippine military and deemed “suitable and mutually beneficial”, the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement. – AFP, April 4, 2023.