DHAKA: The United States wants to use Philippine bases for extended periods of up to 20 years, a Manila official said on Saturday as the two sides are in talks on a wider US military footprint in Asia.

The negotiations aim to allow more US troops, ships, aircraft and other equipment to pass through the Philippines, which had hosted tens of thousands of US troops until 1992.

‘For the Americans, they typically have agreements like these that have a duration of 20 years. Right now, the Philippine delegation is looking at a much shorter duration,’ negotiator Carlos Sorreta, a Philippine assistant foreign secretary, said in statement, reports The Straits Times.

He gave no specific time frame for the Philippine counter-proposal, with the statement adding the ‘substantive issue of duration’ would be ‘subject to further discussion’.

BDST: 1654 HRS, AUG 31, 2013
RoR/RK