A U.S. congressional commission has recommended that Taiwan help finance upgrades to Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in the Philippines to strengthen Washington’s ability to defend the self-ruled island in the event of a Chinese attack.
In its 2025 Report to Congress, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission urged lawmakers to direct the State Department to develop a plan that would allow Taiwan to fund infrastructure improvements — not weaponry — at EDCA locations in Luzon and Palawan, as well as similar initiatives in Japan’s southwestern islands and in Pacific Island nations that recognize Taipei. The funding would be routed through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program.
The report said:
“Under this program, Taiwan would fund projects in third countries, ultimately benefiting its own security,”
There are nine agreed EDCA sites, which give the United States access to Philippine bases for joint training and the prepositioning of equipment. Luzon sites facing Taiwan include Basa Air Base in Pampanga; Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija; Naval Base Camilo Osias and Lal-lo Airport in Cagayan; and Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Isabela. In Palawan, the sites are Balabac Island and Antonio Bautista Air Base, which face the South China Sea.
The EDCA, signed in 2014, initially covered five locations and was expanded in 2023 with four additional sites in northern Luzon and Palawan.
Philippine military planners have been preparing for the possibility that a conflict over Taiwan could spill over into the South China Sea. China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to seize it, while most Taiwanese support maintaining their de facto independence and democratic system.
Other recommendations in the commission’s 28 proposals to Congress include legislation to equip the Philippines “to more effectively counter China’s military aggression and malign influence,” as well as additional resources for the U.S. Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security to maintain capacity-building programs for the Philippine Coast Guard, which the report said was on the front lines of deterring Chinese aggression.
The panel also called for developing a “Quad Plus” dialogue to strengthen the Philippines’ engagement with the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and address illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive activities. The Quad includes the United States, Australia, Japan, and India.
Meanwhile, Palau and the Philippines intend to deepen maritime security cooperation amid China’s expanding presence in the western Pacific, according to senior security officials from both countries.
“We share a border with the Philippines. The South China Sea is just on the other side. It’s only a matter of time before what’s happening in the South China Sea spreads into the East Philippine Sea — and Palau is right there,” Jennifer Anson, National Security Coordinator of the Republic of Palau, said during during a special session at The Manila Dialogue on the South China Sea held early November.
Palau, located east of the Philippines, is viewed as a strategic position in the Second Island Chain — a chain of islands that stretches from Japan to the Mariana Islands to Indonesia, used by the US and its allies to keep an eye on and restrain China’s maritime expansion.
“Cooperation with our nearest neighbor, the Philippines, hasn’t happened yet. I believe this is the starting point,” Anson said.
The presidents of the two nations decided in February to expand their collaboration in a number of fields, including maritime security.
Philippines’ National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said Manila welcomed expanded maritime cooperation with Palau, noting that China’s influence had already reached the Pacific nation. “We can see the trend,” Año said, citing China’s presence in Palau’s waters and its naming of two seamounts claimed by Palau with Chinese names. “Soon, China may create a historical narrative claiming Palau as theirs thousands of years ago.”
Palau is one of three Pacific island nations that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
“We already have shiprider agreements with the United States Coast Guard and Taiwan Coast Guard, but expanding this to other ASEAN countries would really benefit Palau,” Anson said.
