The military accord paved the way for a greater presence of USA forces in the former American colony.
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The pact between Manila and Washington is meant to keep China from impinging on USA military real estate in the region.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court finally voted 10-4 to uphold the constitutionality of the agreement.
“To that end we welcome the Philippines Supreme Court’s decision…”
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called it a “very important decision” as he and U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter began talks with their Philippine counterparts on security and economic issues, including tensions in the South China Sea and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
“As part of our shared goals with the USA under this agreement, we look forward to further enhancing interoperability, addressing short-term capability gaps, promoting long term modernization of our forces, helping maintain maritime security and maritime domain awareness, and human assistance and disaster relief (HADR) capabilities”, the statement from the AFP added.
However it faced immediate legal challenges from groups opposed to U.S. military involvement in the Philippines, a United States colony from 1898 to 1946.
On Monday China said all flights departing from a recently finished runway was “totally within China’s sovereignty”, going against repeated warnings from the United States and its allies in the region to cease activities in an area also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.
The court’s majority decision held that as the government had argued, the Edca was an implementing agreement of the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), ruling that the treaties already provided for the rotational presence of U.S. troops here.
The 2014 defence pact allows the Americans to stay in facilities within Philippine military camps, where they can also station warships and fighter jets in a presence that Filipino officials hope will serve as a deterrent against Chinese aggression in disputed territories.
“EDCA will be President Aquino’s legacy for the next administration that is bound to implement it”, Banlaoi told Reuters.
Almost a century of US military presence in the Philippines ended in 1992 when Americans shut their bases, including the largest military facilities outside the USA mainland, after Filipino senators voted a year earlier not to renew the lease on the bases amid a tide of nationalism.
“The Edca is a mutually beneficial agreement that will enhance our ability to provide rapid humanitarian assistance and help build capacity for the Armed Forces of the Philippines”, the embassy said.
The Phillipines opted to press its case in the tribunal following a tense stand-off with Chinese vessels in April 2012 which took control of a shoal just 220 kilometers off the main Philippine island of Luzon.
The development comes at a time when the Philippines is building up its military capability and firming up regional alliances in the face of China’s aggressive moves in the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea.
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The Philippines has since become the most vocal critic of China’s efforts to claim the waters, including its strategy of turning islets into artificial islands that can host military facilities.
