Tribune Editorial - (US bases) Not permanent, just 20 years

Written by  Tribune Editorial
Monday, 02 September 2013 08:00

 

USS Enterprise (CVN-65) at Subic Bay in 1993. US Navy Photo

The emerging agreement in the negotiations, if not the US government imposition, regarding the rotational presence or the rebalancing of US forces in the Asian region as the American government will call it, is the stationing of military assets for as long as 20 years which is a not, by any stretch of the imagination, a comfortable length for a visit.

 

The military arrangement will also give the US government free access to Philippine military installations, including the setting up of equipment and infrastructure that the American forces will be using during their “temporary” visits.

 

The Philippine panel appeared blind to the impositions of the Americans. The Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which is the only military treaty that the country has with the US, definitely was not designed for the long-term accommodation of foreign troops.

 

The VFA, signed in 1999, provides for the hosting of American forces on visits that span weeks at the most for military exercises. It spells out provisions for the conduct of American forces and the jurisdiction of the country over the foreign troops.

 

The treaty has become controversial in at least two separate occasions when US soldiers were haled to local courts for criminal cases, one of which was a rape case filed against Lance Corporal Daniel Smith.

 

US interests always prevail during such disputes, sparking protests in the country over the unequal provisions of the treaty.

 

The second round of the negotiations between the Philippines and the US for the crafting of a framework agreement for the new military arrangement was concluded in Washington just last week in which, as expected, the meeting was dominated by the US officials.

 

The only incentive it seems for the Philippines is that the US will supposedly honor its commitments under the Mutual Defense Treaty to come to the aid of the country during an actual military conflict that US officials have nonetheless, always dismissed saying that it will only act on its sovereign interests and not of other countries.

 

The Philippine panel also accepted the American definition of temporary presence, which is patterned supposedly after military arrangements with its allies such as Australia, where up to 20 years of stay is considered temporary.

 

“The American troops will not establish a permanent military presence in our country. That was clear during the discussion, Defense Undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino, head negotiator of the Philippine panel, said.
He claimed that from the beginning of the talks, the Philippine panel had “communicated” with the Americans that permanent presence of troops was not in accordance with the Philippine Constitution.

 

Well 20 years really is not permanent, considering that it only encompasses about two generations, when after which maybe Filipinos have softened up again to allow another temporary 20 years of American troops presence in the country.

 

Another idiotic provision of the emerging arrangement is that “all access to and use of military facilities and areas by the US will be at the invitation of the Philippine government.”

 

Will the government under Noynoy or other like-minded American die hard for a President withhold an invitation for the use of Philippine military facilities, most of which would likely be decided by the US government on which facilities to use?

 

The biggest concern on the new military arrangement is that from the start, the US government has treated the VFA with the Philippines as an executive agreement instead of a treaty.

 

If a new military order would be imposed on the country, some degree of honor should be salvaged through the crafting of a new treaty.

 

Forcing the new arrangement, which is for the semi-permanent stay of American forces in the country, into the VFA would be an insult to Filipinos and sovereignty.#

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