Our goal is not to counter China, Obama says

President Barack Obama said a 10-year agreement signed on Monday to give the U.S military greater access to Philippine bases will help promote peace and stability in the region and that he hopes China’s dominant power will allow its neighbours to prosper on their own terms.

The Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement will give American forces temporary access to selected military camps and allow them to preposition fighter jets and ships.

“Our goal is not to counter China. Our goal is not to contain China. Our goal is to make sure international rules and norms are respected and that includes in the area of international disputes,” Mr. Obama said at a news conference with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III at the Malacanang Palace.

“We don’t go around sending ships and threatening folks,” Mr. Obama said.

Mr. Aquino said the new agreement “takes our security cooperation to a higher level of engagement, reaffirms our countries’ commitment to mutual defence and security, and promotes regional peace and stability.”

Still, the increased U.S. military role drew consternation from some Filipino activists, who said the agreement reverses democratic gains achieved when huge American military bases were shut down in the early 1990s, ending a nearly century-long military presence in the former U.S. colony.

Some 800 of those activists burned mock U.S. flags and chanted “no-bama, no bases, no war” on the road leading to the gates of the palace where Mr. Obama met with Mr. Aquino.