The Philippine government announced four new local military camps where rotational American forces would be stationed despite objections from Beijing.

The sites, which were announced Monday nearly two months after the initial announcement was made, are Naval Base Camilo Osias in Santa Ana, Cagayan; Lal-lo Airport in Cagayan; Balabac Island in Palawan; and Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela.

PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA SUPPORTS 'MANY OF THE PROVISIONS' IN CHINA'S UKRAINE PEACE PLAN

Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said the move would boost its country’s coastal defense while it also fits with the U.S. effort to combat China’s rising aggression toward Taiwan and within the South China Sea and Beijing’s sphere of influence in the Asia-Pacific region.

The province of Cagayan is on the northern tip of the Philippines and is the closest territorial point to Taiwan, which would provide the United States with close access to the island. The province of Palawan faces the South China Sea, an important body of water that Beijing claims practically in its entirety, while China's military has taken increasingly aggressive actions that have threatened smaller neighboring countries, including the Philippines.

The Pentagon said after the announcement that it “will strengthen the interoperability of the U.S. and Philippine Armed Forces and allow us to respond more seamlessly together to address a range of shared challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, including natural and humanitarian disasters.”

A delegation from the Chinese Foreign Ministry voiced its opposition in a closed-door meeting in late March with its Philippine counterparts to expanding America's military presence in the area.

The Chinese Embassy also warned that the country's partnership with the U.S. “will drag the Philippines into the abyss of geopolitical strife and damage its economic development at the end of the day," according to the Associated Press.

The crew of the Philippines's BRP Malapascua was allegedly temporarily blinded on Feb. 6 by a "green laser light" near the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea while the Chinese Coast Guard vessel made dangerous maneuvers in the water.

Former U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said at the time that China's behavior was "provocative and unsafe," had interfered with the Philippines's "lawful operations" in the South China Sea, and added that its actions, more broadly, “directly threatens regional peace and stability, infringes upon freedom of navigation in the South China Sea as guaranteed under international law, and undermines the rules-based international order."

Washington's relationship with Beijing has been increasingly rocky in recent months following a series of incidents and acts of aggression both against the U.S. and its allies in the Pacific region. These incidents have occurred as Beijing is working to modernize and expand its military and its weapons arsenal with the prospect of changing the world order.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

A top U.S. defense official said last week that he believes war with China is not inevitable, though he warned that some Chinese officials think conflict is unavoidable.

“My understanding and my analysis of China is that at least their military, and perhaps others, have come to some sort of conclusion that war with the United States is inevitable," Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Defense One in an interview on Friday afternoon. "I think that's a very dangerous thing.”