From the Business Mirror (Jul 8): Heightened US military presence seen
THE Philippines will continue to welcome the American military to make use of military bases and accommodate them under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) to enhance the Philippines’s own military’s capabilities.
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia made the statement, saying that the proposals for use of Philippine military bases by US forces have been under discussion during the last two years.
“You know we have the bilateral strategic dialogue every year. For the last two years that I’ve been in Washington, we’ve had three dialogues so far,” Cuisia said on Monday.
He added that a fourth dialogue has been scheduled and part of the discussions is “how can we strengthen the alliance between the US and the Philippines.”
Asked what bases are the Americans allowed access to, Cuisia said: “I cannot disclose that.”
However, he said the arrangement would be beneficial to the country, as it would enhance the Philippine military’s capabilities.
“It will definitely contribute to a better training of our armed forces, our Navy, our Air Force and so on. We also hope to be able to get more assistance from the US in terms of military security assistance.”
“So there’s going to be more training, more exercises and so on.”
He added that the arrangement would still fall under the VFA.
“Oh yes, [it will be] within the VFA, that’s the underlying agreement. We won’t go beyond that and we want to assure you that whatever agreement is entered into is going to be in line with the Constitution of the Philippines.”
Cuisia did not give a timeline as to when the new arrangement would take effect.
“There’s no timeline because again, we have to make sure that the agreement is acceptable to both parties and sometimes, this things take time.”
Asked if it’s within the year, he said: “We hope but we cannot say.”
Last week Defense Undersecretary Honorio Azcueta said the US military is again welcome to use Subic Bay in Zambales and Clark Field in Pampanga as long as prior approval is granted by the government.
Azcueta made the statement following a meeting with Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint chiefs of staff, who traveled to the country as part of a regional trip to generate support for the US military pivot toward Asia.
The United States used to maintain bases in Subic and Clark for decades after World War II, but the Senate rejected another RP-US Military Bases Agreement in the early 1990s, and the facilities were returned to the Philippines.
The announcement of an expanded military relationship last week came after months of talks between Washington and Manila, and appears to be another step forward in the US plan to bolster its forces in the Asia-Pacific region.
Cuisia is in the Philippines for two weeks to accompany the 10 delegates to the Filipino-American Youth Leadership Program, who were selected based on their scholastic achievements, leadership skills, advocacy and commitment to pay back the Filipino community in the US and in the Philippines.