Says no permanent presence planned
By JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
MALAYA
MALAYA
Subic Bay
PRESIDENT Aquino yesterday defended the proposed grant of access to the country’s bases to Philippine allies like the United States and Japan, saying it would just be temporary and is necessary to familiarize foreign troops with local topography.
The President, in an interview at the sidelines of the ceremonial turnover of the Glock 17 pistols to Philippine National Police in Camp Crame, said access to the bases is necessary for more coordinated joint training exercises.
Aquino also said that granting access would not mean that the presence of American and Japanese soldiers would be permanent in the country’s bases.
“Kung hindi tayo makikipag-ugnayan sa kanila at mag-aayos ng mga sistema, kung sakaling may gulo na is palagay ko maling paghahanda iyon, walang paghahanda iyon. So kailangan nila ng may knowledge na rin noong ating terrain, kailangan rin naman natin iyung inter-operability with them,” he said.
“Hindi naman siguro pwedeng magpa-practice tayo outside of our territory, ano. So it is but the natural circumstance of, if you want a credible alliance, then you will have to have mutual training and that will normally occur within our territory or the allies’ territory,” he added.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin last week said the access agreement for US and Japanese forces as well as other allies is still being prepared.
Militant groups like Bayan Muna and Gabriela have opposed the proposed grant of access to the US and Japan, which they said is a betrayal of the removal of the US bases in 1991, and an insult to the veterans and comfort women that suffered during World War II.
China through its Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the access is an attempt of the Philippines to reinforce its “poor claims” in the South China Sea with the help of external forces.
Aquino reiterated that the Philippines renounces war as a policy and that it is determined to pursue an acceptable solution to the territorial dispute through diplomatic and peaceful means.
Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello said China is “acting and talking like a rogue state” instead of a superpower that should “treat its neighbors with civility and respect.”
“Issuing threats is the work of rogue states like North Korea, not of a country which is claiming to be the next geopolitical powerhouse,” he said.
China’s state media warned on Saturday that a “counterstrike” against the Philippines was inevitable if it continues to provoke Beijing in the South China Sea, potentially Asia’s biggest military trouble spot.
The warning came as ministers from China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) met in Brunei starting Saturday, in the hopes of reaching a legally binding code of conduct to manage maritime conduct in disputed areas.
Bello called the threat “utter lunacy,” adding that Filipinos will respond to such threats with bolder civil-political actions.
He said that if China threatens the Philippines with a military strike, “then we will respond with a global day of action against threats of aggression.”
“The only potent weapon we can use is democratic action from an active and militant citizenry. They better brace for protests in front of their embassies and consular offices this July 24th,” he warned.
It was reported that the overseas edition of the People’s Daily said in a front-page commentary that the Philippines had committed “seven sins” which include the alleged illegal occupation of the Spratly Islands, inviting foreign capital to engage in oil and gas development in the disputed waters, and promoting the “internationalization” of the waters.
Bello said it was China that committed the “original sin” by illegally occupying Philippine waters and territory.
“The Chinese government is delusional for alleging that the Philippines committed these ‘seven sins.’ The responsibility for this conflict falls squarely on the Chinese government for brazenly occupying our territory and ransacking our marine resources,” he said.
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The militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan asked the Supreme Court to issue a temporary environmental protection orders stopping the ongoing US military exercises and port calls of its warships in the country.
Bayan spokesman Renato Reyes said the unlimited access being given to the warships, without any clear environmental guidelines, reveals the fatal problems of the Visiting Forces Agreement.
In its urgent motion, the group insisted that the high court should issue a writ of kalikasan in the wake of the grounding of the USS Guardian at the Tubbataha Reef last January so that a repeat of that incident could be avoided.
The group also said military maritime activities pose “heightened risk of marine trauma” not only in the Tubbataha Reef but also in other biodiversity hotspots in the Philippines. – With Wendell Vigilia and Evangeline de Vera
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