Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Wednesday, May 3, said the Philippines does not need PH-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites if there are no bullies in the South China Sea. Zubiri made this observation during a press forum  following a statement of US President Joe Biden in Washington that he “can’t think of any better partner to have than” President Marcos  as they held a bilateral meeting on Monday headlined by regional security issues spawned by China’s aggressive activities in the South China Sea. The South China Sea, a busy sea lane where more than $5 trillion in goods pass through every year, is the subject of a longstanding maritime row involving China, which claims virtually the entire area, and the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan, which have overlapping claims. Zubiri said China, an economic and military power, has been harassing Philippine Navy and Coast Guard  vessels in the West Philippine Sea although the United Nations Arbitration Court rejected China’s historical claim over most parts of the South China Sea in 2016. Earlier, Senator. Jospeh Victor ‘’JV’’ Ejercito lamented that while China claims it is friend of the Philippines, ‘’it acts otherwise.’’ China is a bully, he added. Zubiri said that relatively big Chinese Coast Guard vessels have been bullying Philippine vessels and harassing fishermen in the Scarborough Shoal, Ayungin Shoal and Pagasa island .\ \ These are nearer to Philippine territory than to China and are well within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ), he explained. The Scarborough Shoal is about 200 nautical miles west of Zambales in Luzon or is more than 800 nautical miles east of Hainan, the easternmost land mass of China. China claims possession of the seas after 80 kilometers off these shoals and islands in the Philippines, Zubiri said. Zubiri said the US, under Philippine-US military agreements,’’ could also act with dispatch on how to help defend us, in times where there will be intrusions from other countries because they are a treaty ally. We are a treaty ally with the United States.’’ While President Marcos had said that the Philippines does not have enemies but it is a friend to all, Zubiri pointed out that there are bullies around that harass Filipino fishermen, Philippine Navy and Coast Guard vessels. "At dahil doon, sa aking panaanaw, talagang kailangan natin ang EDCA sites (That to me is basis to support the EDCA sites). Kailangan natin ng tulong galing sa ating kapatid at treaty ally na Amerikano (We need the help of a brother and a treaty ally),’’ he stressed. "Let’s face it, kulang na kulang po tayo ng armas, wala po tayo masyadong surface-to-air missiles, wala po tayong mga torpedo, wala po tayong mga anti-tank missiles, maliliit po ang ating barko (Let’s face it, we really need arms, we don’t have surface-to-air missiles, we don’t have torpedos, we don’t have anti-tank missiles, our vessels are small)," he said. "Now, under the EDCA sites, we allow our partner and ally, our treaty ally, the United States, to do temporary basing ng mga (of their) equipment nila,’’ he added. The Senate chief said that under EDCA, the US also helps the country in times of calamities or natural disasters. He cited US help in the Mindoro oil spill and in the search for persons missing following a sinking of a dive boat in Tubbataha, Palawan.