By Carl Thayer
What precisely does the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the U.S. and the Philippines do?
On April 28, immediately prior to President Barack Obama’s arrival in Manila for a state visit to the Philippines, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg signed the long-awaited Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) at Camp Aquinaldo, Quezon City.
The EDCA is characterized by both governments as an executive agreement and not a formal treaty. It therefore does not require the consent of the Senate in either country.
The EDCA was the result of eight rounds of negotiations that initially commenced in August 2013. It was originally entitled Increased Rotational Presence Framework Agreement, according to Albert del Rosario, Secretary for Foreign Affairs. The change in the title reflects the desire of the Philippines and the U.S. for a more comprehensive agreement that covers the full range of enhanced defense cooperation. Increased rotational presence is just one modality of enhanced defense cooperation.
On April 29, Malacañang released the full text of the agreement. The Agreement on Enhanced Defense Cooperation is a ten-page document containing a preamble and 12 articles. Government spokesmen repeatedly describe the EDCA as a framework agreement that raises the scope of the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).
Read the full story at The Diplomat