(GMA Network) The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Sunday said allowing the United States to designate four new sites for the full implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and restarting joint patrols in the South China Sea leaves the Philippines caught between the US and China should a war break out between the two powers.

CPP Chief Information Officer Marco Valbuena made the remark following the recent visit of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III to the Philippines, which Valbuena called “part of the US government’s continuing strategy of preparing the war theater against China.”