US, Philippines weigh new military marriage
Asian Times
By Fabio Scarpello
COTABATO CITY, Southern Philippines – More than 15 years after the US was forced to close its military bases in the Philippines by nationalist politicians, there are growing indications that Washington is angling to re-establish a permanent military presence here – though US diplomats strenuously deny the speculation.
The United States’ behind-the-scenes role in mediating a peace deal between the Philippine government and a group of Islamic rebels and its assistance to the Philippine armed forces in chasing down another rebellious Islamic organization has, for many Filipinos, lent credence to growing speculation that the US has designs on establishing new bases on the country’s southern island of Mindanao.
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP), an independent, non-partisan institution established and funded by the US Congress, is involved in the negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been fighting for independence for more than 30 years. The USIP, however, is conspicuously not a party to the broad, Malaysia-led peace talks, which were launched after the two sides signed a tentative truce in July 2003.
The MILF, the largest rebel group in the Philippines, has hinted on several occasions that it has been approached by undisclosed US authorities about the possibility of establishing US military bases in MILF-controlled territory as part of a final peace deal. “This is negotiable, it is possible,”said Eid Kabalu, the MILF’s spokesperson.
“We are facing reality. We know that Washington has its own agenda in Mindanao, and that this has mostly to do with terrorism,” said Kabalu from his modest residence in central Mindanao’s Cotabato City. “However, if the American interest is really in pushing this peace process, then we can talk about military bases.”
For nearly a century, the US military had use of two major bases in the Philippines, one at Clark Air Force Base and the other at Subic Naval Station, representing for a time the United States’ largest military installations in Asia. After the 1986 fall of Philippine dictator and erstwhile US ally Ferdinand Marcos, nationalistic lawmakers in 1991 voted to end the United States’ long military presence in the country.
The subsequent US military withdrawal was widely expected to create a regional power vacuum, bringing the Philippines into territorial disputes with Japan, China, Taiwan and Malaysia, particularly over competing claims to the reputedly oil-rich Spratly Islands. Meanwhile, in the late 1990s, the US made overtures to establish permanent military bases in Thailand – which were spurned out of hand.
From the United States’ perspective, the concomitant rise of regional Islamic terrorism and China’s growing military ambitions have fundamentally changed the region’s security calculus and accentuated the strategic need for new installations in the region. And from a regional perspective, the Philippines is arguably the best fit. The Islamic-rebel-racked southern Philippines has recently emerged as a key theater in the United States’ counter-terrorism campaign in Southeast Asia.
The US has in recent years poured hundreds of millions of dollars of military-related assistance into the Philippines, including funds earmarked for military training. The US has also provided technical assistance for the Philippine military’s campaign in the southern province of Sulu against the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic rebel organization that Washington contends has links to al-Qaeda.
Strategic motivations
Security analysts in Manila agree that Washington has a strong strategic interest in re-establishing permanent military bases in the Philippines. According to prominent political analyst Antonio Abaya, the short- and mid-term military objective would be to undermine activities of Jemaah Islamiya, the Indonesia-based regional terrorist group that is believed to have training camps in the Philippines’ Sulu Archipelago and West Mindanao.
Retired General Fortunato Abat, a former Philippines defense chief and senior envoy to Beijing, contends that establishing a US military base in Mindanao would make strategic sense for Washington on several fronts, including possible future naval interventions in the South China Sea, defending Taiwan from a preemptive Chinese attack and providing a launch pad for anti-terrorist operations in Indonesia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Furthermore, it would complete the US security arc providing additional strength to what the US has in place in Japan, Korea and Hawaii to forestall any Chinese adventurism in Southeast Asia,” Abat said.
Writer and historian Renato Redentor Constantino concurs with such assessments, noting that Mindanao is now in the midst of a US-financed infrastructure spending spree that he contends goes well beyond what the region’s development would need. “Yes, the US is interested, and no, it is not only because of the war on terror,” Constantino said.
Philippine-based US diplomats strongly dismiss such speculation. “There are no talks along those lines. The US is an ally of the Philippines and, at the moment, military bases are not allowed here,” Stacy MacTaggert, deputy press attache at the US Embassy in Manila, said in a telephone interview.
Eugene Martin, executive director of the Philippines chapter of the USIP, sounds similar denials. “As the Institute of Peace is not a US government agency, I do not know what and if any discussions on this matter are or have been held. But the institute is not in any way engaged in such talks as we focus on trying to help the two sides reach a viable peace agreement,” he said in an e-mail response to Asia Times Online queries.
“Personally, I would be surprised if there were such discussion, since the US military is working closely with its Filipino counterparts on counter-terrorism training,” Martin said. “Furthermore, as long as the prospective Bangsamoro homeland is within Philippine territorial boundaries and sovereignty, I believe the national constitutional provisions barring foreign military bases would prevail. Legal scholars and nationalists in Manila would find it difficult to accept such bases.”
Sources close to the Philippine-based US intelligence community claim that talks about establishing bases are under way, are spearheaded by a parallel unofficial diplomacy on the ground. “It is an ongoing discussion. The two parties are close, and Manila has agreed. One big problem is to find a formula that can be sold to the strong local opposition,” a source said.
Peaceful latecomer
Washington’s strategic interest in the region followed al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001, attack on the US, when evidence emerged that some of the plot’s leaders had held meetings in the Philippines. The US later became militarily active in the region after reports emerged that various Islamic terrorist organizations had taken sanctuary in Mindanao’s thick forests, including some groups that had allegedly relocated their camps from Afghanistan after the US invasion of that country in 2001.
Intelligence sources in the Philippines say the Moro rebels welcomed many of the mujahideen fighters, who brought with them weapons and expertise. Then, their relocation was made easy by Manila’s incompetence in identifying and combating the new threat, because of weak anti-terror legislation, a tattered intelligence network and a lack of resources and manpower.
The United States’ involvement in the region was partly triggered by a direct plea for help made by the late MILF chairman Salamat Hashim, who wrote to US President George W Bush in January 2003. Washington’s commitment was partially based on the MILF’s pledge to renounce terrorism, which was made public by Hashim in a policy statement released on June 20, 2003. This was followed that same month by a similar request for assistance by Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who had by then emerged as Asia’s most vocal supporter of the US-led anti-terrorism campaign.
Since then, the US has substantially increased its assistance to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. In the past few years, Washington has poured roughly US$300 million into the AFP’s coffers and sent hundreds of American soldiers to conduct prolonged training exercises with their Filipino counterparts. This May, the Philippines and the US signed a new agreement establishing a formal board that will determine and discuss the possibility of holding joint US-Philippine military exercises against terrorism and other non-traditional security concerns.
The US military presence in and around Mindanao arguably has a more permanent feature in the shape of the Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines, which advises Filipinos on how best to fight terrorism. The JOSTFP, which rotates personnel every six months, is composed of marine, air-force, navy, army, and special-forces personnel, all under the US Pacific Command.
The JOSTFP’s main target is the Abu Sayyaf Group, a small but violent rebel organization operating mainly in the Sulu Archipelago that has historically been involved in kidnappings for ransom. The US has since September 11, 2001, included Abu Sayyaf on its list of global terrorist organizations.
The MILF and Manila have optimistically stated their joint intention to sign a final peace agreement by the end of this year. Provisional indications of the deal include a power-sharing governmental system, which would place part of Mindanao under the Moro’s direct day-to-day control while at the same time maintaining Philippine national and geographical integrity. The establishment of US military installations would conceptually serve a de facto peacekeeping role between the two sides, while also providing Manila and Washington a valuable beachhead to combat Islamic terror groups in the region.
The MILF’s Kabalu said his group would like official US participation in the peace-talks process, which since 2003 has been led inconclusively by Malaysia. “We would like Washington to make its position official, like Malaysia, Brunei and Libya, who take part in the consultations on behalf of their governments.
“At the moment the US is playing a clever role; they are involved, but only via the United States Institute of Peace,” he said, adding: “We have nothing against the Americans. As a matter of fact, in our 30-year-long struggle, we have never hurt one American. If they help, then they are welcome.”
Fabio Scarpello is AdnKronos International Southeast Asia bureau chief. He can be contacted at fabio25770@hotmail.com.
Why do you think US Ambassador Kenny went to Malaysia together with the Negotiating Panel? If the US military bases are built again in the South, what does GMA get in return?
Off topic, pero talagang ang yabang talaga ni Gloria unano. Ano iyan KSP? Wala man lang humility ang ungas. Wala pang nanalo sa mga pilipino, puro yabang na ang ungas. Siya daw ang inspiration ng mga ipinadala sa Beijing. Ulol!
Nagkakagulo na sa Pilipinas, hindi pa umuuwi si Pandack Omama? Pambihira rin ano?
Si Dubya, et al nga umuwi na a. Si Gaga naglalakwatsa pa? Sa amin iyan, siguradong mahaba na ang pila ng protesta kapag ginawa ni Fukuda ang ganyan. Walang a-attend ng kahit anong pakulo gaya ng ginawa ni Gaga lalo na may crisis sa pagkain sa Pilipinas tapos sila kakain ng masarap sa Beijing! Unbelievable talaga!
Incompetence iyan sa totoo lang. Kailan uuwi iyan? Pagtapos ng Beijing Olympics na aabutin ng 17 days? Gusto lang manood na bayad ng mga taumbayan ang ticket ng mga kasama niya? Abuso!
U.S. boosts its military ties with Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
By P. Parameswaran, AFP
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
WASHINGTON — The United States is stepping up military ties with Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia as part
of a deepening relationship with Southeast Asia amid competition for influence from China, officials said.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/regional%20news/2008/07/16/165733/U.S.-boosts.htm
US boosts military ties with Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
Agence France-Presse – 7/15/2008 2:19 AM GMT
The United States is stepping up military ties with Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia as part of a deepening relationship with Southeast Asia amid competition for influence from China, officials said.
http://news.ph.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1569208
Before the Bitch left for China, she gave order and instruction to attack the MILF in Mindanao as a prelude to declaring state of emergency first in that place then the entire country.
Uuwi na raw si pandak kasi wala na si Dubya. Ulol! Bakit ba nagpapaloko pa ang mga pilipino sa gagang iyan? Kawawa lang sila sa pagto-tolerate nila diyan. May pinirmahan daw with the Chinese na mga deals kasama iyong asawa.
Lutong makaw na naman iyan. Di pala lutong makaw, lutong beijing pala! 😛 Lagot na lalo ang future generation ng mga pilipino! Ang daming babayaran na utang dagdag doon sa mga inutang ng tatay niyan!
The US can do anything it wants in Mindanao as long as Gloria holds illegal power. Naghahawakan si Pidal at Kenny.
current research and inquiries by notable american scientists and engineers suggest that the official story re: al-Qaeda and jetfuel is very remote. findings pointing to controlled demolition would also suggest that explosives were placed weeks beforehand, thus the possibity of inside job. wakeup.
Kawawang MILF! Ginagamit din ni Pandack Omama in deceiving both the Filipinos and perhaps even the Americans thinking that with US help together with the Chinese, she can still achieve what she has dreamt of getting—a crown and be named Queen Gloria I.
Let’s see if indeed the MILF has Al Qaeda connection. Pag kasabwat ni Gloria at mga kano iyan, hindi na kailangang mag-aksaya ng buhay ng mga sundalong ng AFP para ubusin ang mga iyan. Uubusin na sila ng Al Qaeda no doubt, that is kung totoo talaga ang claim ni Dubya na Al Qaeda talaga ang may kasalanan ng 9/11 at hindi sila mismo to get Iraqi oil!
Signs of the times sabi nga. Katapusan ng mundo malapit na siguro!
off the topic but i want to share it though because it is still related to us all about sharing our insights:
Press Release: August 11,2008
For more info: Eero Brillantes, 09276702831, mindbullet45@gmail.com
Young Generation of Politicians Barnstorms Schools, Connects with the “Internet Nation”
A multipartisan political group called “Young Turks” led by Genuine Opposition Spokesperson and Pamantasan Lungsod ng Maynila President Atty. Adel Tamano has started to go the rounds of colleges and universities all over the country. Tamano, along with other young political personalities Nacionalista Party spokesperson and former congressman Gilbert Remulla, English Professor Danton Remoto, Congressman Erin Tanada, and San Juan mayor JV Ejercito are doing the rounds of campuses advocating for youth involvement in governance.
The kick off started at Silliman University in Dumaguete City Last July 10-11, 2008.
Tamano described the event. “The bright students of Silliman University asked questions and we tried to answer them with substance and with style, with wit and cheer and laughter intact. It is because their questions seemed to deal with lack of hope, of being betrayed by their leaders, of abandonment. I hope we kept the spark plug of hope alive. We spoke in a chapel, a presentation room for business students, and the great church — all in one day. We hope the Sillimanians had a grand time, the way we did too, in our first campus tour.”
Eero Brillantes, CEO of Mindbullet Marketing and Public Relations, and maintains the young turk’s blog http://www.oppositeofapathy.wordpress.com says that the blog has become hyperactive after the Silliman activity. Based on site metering, he noted interest in what the group has to say. “The blog has just recently been put up. Yet it has already been visited almost 10,000 times. It is currently ranked number 13 for politics and government by topblogs.com.ph. Its just one notch lower to the “Mar Roxas for President 2010 blog which is at number 12. The blog definitely has momentum. With the campus tour catching fire, the blog is poised to be a prominent fixture in new politics for the country. The Young Turks and the Internet Nation has become properly introduced”.
For his part Remoto was upbeat about the launch and how the internet was able to disseminate the event exponentially. “Skycable showed the complete proceedings that night of July 10, and we also had coverage from two radio stations, two newspapers and the Sillimanian college paper as well as its website. Not to mention the many blogs of the bagets from Silliman, which are now being read and re-sent and re-read all over the borderless world of cyberspace. ”
Congressman Tanada, emphasized the need for dialogue between the young batch of political leaders and the youth. He said that it is important for the youth not to loose hope and for them to assert their rights. Remulla asserted that there is still hope and it resides in the youth and the young generation should not be afraid to stand for what they believe in.
On August 26, 2008, the Young Turks will visit the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance. This will be followed by a tour to University of the Philippines at Los Baños in September. xxx
Vietnam, you say, Nelbar? I doubt if Vietnam will be as foolish as to tie up with the US for its own protection that they can manage to do on their own.
They have actually proven it before. They will have no qualms proving it again unlike the Filipinos who have never come to appreciate it seems to be free and still insist on being at the beck and call of the USA and treated like the domestic helpers ready to serve them even for a meager fee or a morsel of pagpag!!!
Why are we negotiating with the MILF, a known terrorist group? They are the obvious rebels here, fighting against the government since god knows when. We have supposed “rebels” in custody also, and why the different treatment? This is CRAZY! No, this is THE PHILIPPINES! (ala 300 with kick to the butt)
11 August 2008
Alam nyo mga kaibigan, sa buong mundo, magsabi kayo sa akin na ang america ay hindi nagsasabi ng “in the interest of america”. Iyan at iyan lamang ang kanila sasabihin. Pero sa ibang bansa, masabi man nila yan, ay may halong ingat at kasi nga alam nilang babanat yung mga basang yun. Subalit nakakalungkot, sa Pilipinas ay kakaiba, hindi pa man nagsasalita ang america ay eto na ang ating mga liderato, sila pa ang nag-aalok ng walang hinihingi ang america. Ang problema nga e, dahil sa ganitong sistem ay “GINAGAGO” na tayo ng mga kano.
Kailan pa ba tayo matututo na sa ikauunland ng Pilipinas sariling pagsusumikap at pagpupunyagi ang kailangan. Lideratong kayang tumayo sa sariling paa at may prinsipyo, liderato na kayang patinuin at pag-isahin ang mga Pilipino, liderato na may malasakit sa sariling bayan, at higit sa liderato na tutoo.
Kaya sa darating na halalan sa 2010, ang boto ko ay NOTA (None of The Above) dahil lahat ng mga may tangkang maging presidente ay pulos pansarili lamang ang inaatupag sa ilalim ng pagkukunwari, na sya ay makabansa at maka Pilipino subalit sila pala ay mga hunyango na mabilis magpalit ng kulay.
Higit sa lahat marunong manindigan ukol sa pakikipag-ugnay sa mga banyaga.
MINDBULLET45, sorry my friend, but all those you mentioned above are all from the families of TRAPO’s, can you please tell me who among those you mentioned above, are not from the TRAPO family??? You tell us of the need to dialogue among young batch of political leaders and youth. I agree very much for the dialogue, but until then I have my right to reseve my comment on that dialogue. Can you please tell me from the young bright(???) politicians that we have right now, who does not think of his/her own self, then I will support him/her. I am no brainer, but I will believe in what I see. I have already talked to most of these young turks of politicians, they have been idealist, but the moment they got elected, your guess is as good as mine. Until then, as I said, I will reserve my comments regarding these young politicians.
prans
Kawawang Erap. He busts his butt to kick out the US bases, “all-out-warred” with the MILF, only to be kicked out of office unceremoniously and now it seems he will still be alive to see the US bases back again and this time on MILF soil…
With what Gloria is doing and falsely transacting with the terrorist groups, most have come to see the ‘wisdom’ of Erap’s action against them to reclaim what belong to Pinas.
Mabuhay Erap!
With all the misdealings and false transactions of Gloria with these already identified terrorist groups, most pinoys have come to see the ‘wisdom’ of Erap in taking armed action against them to reclaim what belong to Pinas.
Mabuhay Erap!
Nasan ang CBCP, gera na sa Mindanao and so many civilians have already been displaced since the military began bombing certain areas. Hindi pa ba alam ng CBCP o nagtatanga-tangahan sa kinakahinatnan ng mga civilians doon. Passs the brown bags, please.
Tangna, gera din ito a!
Ellen, ang hirap pumasok sa blog…
Sori, rejected kasi iyong una pero pumasok then later ang first paragraph…
What’s happening to Ellenville? Now I see it…now I don’t…huh, napipidal na naman!
Jug,
I remember Erap being accused of the group of Gloria Dorobo in 2000 of trying to wipe out the Moslems in Mindanao when he ordered an offensive against the rebels then. Gloria and her group called it “ethnic cleansing” that actually they tried to do when Erap was removed in an attempt to justify the semi-permanent deployment of US troops to Mindanao since the idiot grabbed power against the provision of the Constitution on foreign troops on Philippine soil.
Pero walang humihirit kundi iyong mga communists, et al, a reason I guess why they want to keep majority of the Filipinos ignorant and illiterate (not enough education) to understand issues affecting them. Di tulad dito na compulsory ang education. Kaya nang magkaroon ng national referendum tungkol sa tropa ng mga kano dito, majority voted for the reduction of US troops in Japan. Iyan ang pangako ng US sa Japan in fact nang hikayatin ni Bush na palakasin ng Japan ang self-defense force namin against the provision of our pacifist Constitution. In fact, hanggang ngayon, binabatikos ang pagtatayo ng aming Ministry of Defense, at ang balak na i-revise ang aming Constitution.
Ako nga ngayon napilitang sumanib sa isang political party dito na siyang matiyagang bumabatikos ng panukalang ito dahil ayokong ma-involve ang Japan sa guerra ng America. Ang sarap sumama sa mga protesta dito sa totoo lang. Di gaya ng mga pilipino na karamihan mahilig lang magsosyalan, magsaya at magsayaw kahit na marami nang napapatay dahil sa kawalanghiyaan ni Gloria Garutay!
….being accused by the group….
The writing on the wall. Everyone knew that would happen. We knew the deep water for a submarine base would be at General Santos. Just how did the Americans got the Panama Canal? It helped a few Colombian rebels carved out Panama from Colombia for the canal. Again the US saw a need to make another canal and they helped the Contras. Before the canal, the route to California was thru Nicaragua. A base outside of the typhoon belt that is in Mindanao is perfect even for everyone of us. We can learn good driving habits once more. The solons can once more raid the steak place inside the base.
Val,
So, there’ll be jobs for the locals… taga-hukay canal if our waters wouldn’t be enough for the interests of the Americans.
Menial jobs para sa mga pilipino na yuyuko sa mga dayuhan sa sarili nilang bayan? Is that it? Anong ginanda niyon? Tapos iyong mga babae kakalapin para magbigay aliw doon sa mga malilibog na kano? Yuck!
Sabi nga ng kaibigan ko sa Davao, nawala na raw ang mga dalaginding doon at nasa Zamboanga na raw na kasa-kasama noong mga malilibog na sundalong kano!