Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel "Babe" Romualdez on Tuesday told China never to question the military alliance between Manila and Washington as the two governments have had such cooperation under the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT). Instead, Romualdez said Beijing must question itself what its vessels and militias are doing in the Philippine territories as they [continued their incursion](https://mb.com.ph/2023/02/23/pcg-china-coast-guard-30-maritime-militia-vessels-remain-at-ayungin-sabina-shoals/) into Ayungin Shoal and other parts of the West Philippine Sea. "The question we should ask China is why are you creating tension in our territory," the country's top diplomat in Washington said in an interview with CNN Philippines. "We should ask the question to them. We have been doing this as part of our MDT,  which has been in place since 1951. And now they are questioning us with the kind of relationship that we have with the US... 'Yan ang dapat nilang sagutin (That's what they have to answer)," he added. Prior to the [announcement](https://mb.com.ph/2023/4/3/palace-reveals-4-proposed-additional-edca-sites) of four new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in the Philippines where American troops will have access to, [China already criticized the Philippine-US military alliance.](https://mb.com.ph/2023/3/9/china-hits-us-ph-military-cooperation-says-us-advances-self-interests-endangers-regional-peace-and-stability) Beijing said the partnership would "seriously endanger regional peace and stability" and would "drag the Philippines into the abyss of geopolitical strife." China made the pronouncement although its vessels and militias are conducting illegal operations as well as [harassing Filipino fishermen and authorities](https://mb.com.ph/2023/02/14/ph-protests-chinas-aggressive-activities-vs-pcg-vessel-in-ayungin-shoal/) in the internationally-recognized Philippine waters. "When we do something like this, this is part of a deterrence, so to speak... Ang gusto natin (What we want is) peace and stability in the area by having the presence of the US and China is our neighbor. Gusto natin peace pag usapan natin kung merong dispute (We want peace. So, let's talk when there's a dispute)," Romualdez said. "Pero (But) this is not directed to any country. Wala naman may gusto niyan (No one wants it) at the end of the day," he added. Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in a statement said the announcement of the new EDCA sites "affirms a robust commitment between the Philippines and United States to a stronger alliance." Such alliance "promotes regional peace and stability, addresses new and emerging shared security challenges, and provides for greater socio-economic opportunities for many Filipinos," according to DFA. EDCA is also part of the Philippine investments in its own defense and security that will benefit military installations under the control of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the agency asserted. Aside from enhancing interoperability, DFA said EDCA will also "lead to the construction of facilities and infrastructure upgrades that directly contribute to the enhancement of the capabilities" of the AFP.