AFP, Manila

The Philippines yesterday announced 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 longtime treaty allies agreed in February to expand cooperation in “strategic areas” of the Philippines as they seek to counter China’s growing assertiveness over self-governed Taiwan and the building of Chinese bases in the South China Sea.

The 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, known as EDCA, gave US forces access to five Philippine bases.

It was expanded to nine, but the locations of the four additional 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.

It said the bases would also be used for humanitarian and relief operations during disasters.

A US official confirmed that the locations announced by the palace were the new EDCA sites.

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, the Philippine statement said. The naval base at Cagayan’s Santa Ana is about 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Taiwan. Another site will be an air base on Balabac Island, off the southern tip of Palawan Island, near the South China Sea. Cagayan governor opposed having EDCA sites in his province.