<p>The Philippines and the United States signed an agreement today to allow a bigger US military presence on Filipino territory, hours ahead of a visit to Manila by US President Barack Obama.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Philippine Defence Minister Voltaire Gazmin and US ambassador Philip Goldberg signed the 10-year pact, which is seen as another element of Obama's effort to focus US military and economic attention more heavily on Asia.<br /><br />Obama said the deal would see more US troops rotate through the Philippines for joint military training exercises, but emphasised there would be no return of permanent American bases.<br /><br />"Greater cooperation between American and Filipino forces would enhance our ability to train, exercise, and operate with each other and respond even faster to a range of challenges," Obama said in a written response to questions by local television network ABS-CBN ahead of his visit.<br /><br />The deal announced today is only a framework agreement, with the details -- such as how many US troops will rotate through the Philippines and when -- to be negotiated and announced later.<br /><br />Obama was due to arrive in the Philippines from Malaysia on Monday afternoon for a two-day visit, the final leg of an Asian trip that also took him to Japan and South Korea.<br /><br />The United States and the Philippines are already long-time allies bound by a mutual defence pact, and engage in regular war games that see thousands of US troops and state-of-the-art American military hardware brought to the Philippines.<br /><br />The Philippines had been eager for an agreement to expand the arrangement to boost its weak military capabilities and emphasise its close ties to the United States, at a time of deep tensions with China over competing claims to parts of the South China Sea.<br /><br />China claims most of the South China Sea, even waters close to the Philippines and other countries in the region.<br /><br />Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as Taiwan, also have overlapping claims to the sea.<br /><br />As tensions over the South China Sea have heated up, the United States has sought to strike a balanced strategy by seeking to reassure its allies in Asia while emphasising to China it takes no sides on the dispute.<br /><br />In his comments to ABS-CBN, Obama again emphasised the United States remained deeply committed to supporting the Philippines, a former US colony, referring to the two nations' 1951 mutual defence treaty. </p>
<p>The Philippines and the United States signed an agreement today to allow a bigger US military presence on Filipino territory, hours ahead of a visit to Manila by US President Barack Obama.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Philippine Defence Minister Voltaire Gazmin and US ambassador Philip Goldberg signed the 10-year pact, which is seen as another element of Obama's effort to focus US military and economic attention more heavily on Asia.<br /><br />Obama said the deal would see more US troops rotate through the Philippines for joint military training exercises, but emphasised there would be no return of permanent American bases.<br /><br />"Greater cooperation between American and Filipino forces would enhance our ability to train, exercise, and operate with each other and respond even faster to a range of challenges," Obama said in a written response to questions by local television network ABS-CBN ahead of his visit.<br /><br />The deal announced today is only a framework agreement, with the details -- such as how many US troops will rotate through the Philippines and when -- to be negotiated and announced later.<br /><br />Obama was due to arrive in the Philippines from Malaysia on Monday afternoon for a two-day visit, the final leg of an Asian trip that also took him to Japan and South Korea.<br /><br />The United States and the Philippines are already long-time allies bound by a mutual defence pact, and engage in regular war games that see thousands of US troops and state-of-the-art American military hardware brought to the Philippines.<br /><br />The Philippines had been eager for an agreement to expand the arrangement to boost its weak military capabilities and emphasise its close ties to the United States, at a time of deep tensions with China over competing claims to parts of the South China Sea.<br /><br />China claims most of the South China Sea, even waters close to the Philippines and other countries in the region.<br /><br />Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as Taiwan, also have overlapping claims to the sea.<br /><br />As tensions over the South China Sea have heated up, the United States has sought to strike a balanced strategy by seeking to reassure its allies in Asia while emphasising to China it takes no sides on the dispute.<br /><br />In his comments to ABS-CBN, Obama again emphasised the United States remained deeply committed to supporting the Philippines, a former US colony, referring to the two nations' 1951 mutual defence treaty. </p>