The head of U.S. Pacific Command hailed the news that the Philippine Supreme Court found an enhanced defense agreement with the United States to be consistent with the Philippine constitution.

The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement was signed in 2014 but the Philippine Supreme Court review delayed progress on the pact.

Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., commander of U.S. Pacific Command at Camp H.M. Smith, said in a news release today that the EDCA “is a mutually beneficial agreement that will deepen already strong security ties between the Philippines and the United States.”

“As part of our strategic rebalance to the Indo-Asia-Pacific,” Harris said, “the EDCA will strengthen our alliance by faciliating the rotational presence of U.S. joint forces in the Philippines, increasing bilateral training opportunities, and supporting the international rules-based order that has served the region so well for the last 70 years.”

The defense cooperation agreement updated and strengthened the U.S.-Philippines alliance, which dates back to the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951. The EDCA does not provide for permanent U.S. bases in the Philippines, but does allow access for troop, warships and aircraft deployments.

At ministerial level talks in Washington D.C. with the Philippines, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said today that the United States “has an ironclad commitment to the security of the Philippines.”

Kerry said the Philippine Supreme Court ruling on EDCA “is a very important decision. And we look forward to implementing this accord, which will increase the interoperability of our armed forces.”

The ability for American forces to increasingly use Philippine ports and bases is seen by the Philippines as a possible bulwark against China’s nearby island-building and sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.

“Our security interests are becoming increasingly intertwined,” Philippines Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said at the ministerial consultations.