Palawan and US officials held a meeting on March 29 to discuss measures to boost local tourism, environmental protection, and maritime security in the province.
The meeting was attended by American Embassy Manila – Political Section First Secretary Edward O’Brien, US Embassy Civic Affairs Team Sergeant Shannon Carpenter, Captain Minghanbo Liu, Provincial Legal Officer Atty. Joshua Bolusa and Provincial Tourism Promotions and Development Officer Maribel Buñi.
The meeting tackled certain measures suggested by both ends for enhancing the ties between the United States and Philippines in the tourism, environmental, and maritime security sectors.
The Palawan officials also informed the Americans of the recently concluded “The Great Kalayaan Expedition,” and the upcoming “Pista ng Karagatang Kanluran—The First West Philippine Sea Festival,” which is scheduled to launch in the island municipality of Kalayaan.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently announced that Palawan will be one of the locations chosen for the proposed Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites between the Philippines and the United States.
With the presence of US troops back in Palawan, the EDCA site will give the Western powers access to military bases and will also permanently give them the authority to conduct joint training, pre-positioning of equipment, and the building of facilities such as runways, fuel storage, and military housing.
The Palawan US base also includes a 9,000-foot World War II-era runway, which could potentially be of great use in efforts pertaining to maritime security.
This will also signal additional development in terms of environmental protection and tourism for the province.
Discussion about this post