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Lawmakers call for repeal of US-Philippines treaty

Tuesday, June 14, 2011
MANILA — Philippine lawmakers on Monday called for the immediate abrogation of the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between Manila and Washington, which they claim to be unbeneficial to the country.
Anakpawis party-list Rep. Rafael Mariano said the pronouncement of the United States Government that it will not help the Philippines should its conflict with China over the disputed Spratly Islands escalate into a shooting war “only proves that the MDT is a mere piece of paper that doesn’t bind the two countries at all.”
“The United States government is not interested in the conflict between the Philippines and People’s Republic of China because it doesn’t serve the interest of the US and its people,” he said.
Mariano said the Philippines has nothing to offer to the US Government.
“Worse, we kicked them out from our soil when the Senate voted to remove the American bases. We cannot expect any help from them,” he stressed.
The only thing left for the Philippine Government to do is to abrogate the treaty, which was entered into by the US and the Philippines on August 30, 1951, the lawmaker said.
US Press Attaché Rebecca Thompson was quoted as saying, “the US does not take sides in regional territorial disputes.”
Thompson was reacting to deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte’s statement that the Philippine government can expect support from the United States in case the situation in the South China Sea worsens.
Valte was referring to the Philippines conflict with China over the disputed Spratly Islands. The Philippines is among the six countries claiming all or in part the disputed oil rich area at the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teddy Casiño said he is not surprised by the US position on the Spratly Islands. In fact, he said, the US should keep out of the issue.
“Rather than encourage US intervention, we should engage China and all claimant countries in principled negotiations toward a settlement acceptable to the Filipino people and the international community,” he said.
Isabela Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao said, “the mutual defense treaty is illusory.”
“That statement should be a reality check for us. The US will act only to protect their interests, not ours. And the sooner we realize that, the better for us in charting our foreign policies vis-à-vis the US. Without basing rights, what substantial interest does the US have to protect the country?” Aggabao said.
Deputy Speaker Maria Isabelle Climaco, meanwhile, believes the Aquino Government will exert all means possible to resolve the country’s conflict with China over territorial disputes.
While Climaco said a review of the MDT can be done, she remained confident that the Aquino administration would resolve the issue through diplomatic means.
Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy echoed the call of Climaco urging the country’s political leaders to leave the talking to President Aquino.
Herrera-Dy said it would also be advisable for government officials to observe prudence on the issue, saying that a gag order on all Cabinet officials may be imposed by Aquino.
“Sadly, statements issued have contributed little to ease the tension and worse, not a few are convinced Filipinos are rattling the American saber against China,” she said.
Also on Monday, the Philippine government vowed to improve capabilities of the Armed Forces and the Philippine Coast Guard to safeguard the country’s national territory in the West Philippine Sea.
“The administration is determined to improve the capabilities of our military and Coast Guard to enable the effective patrol and protection of our national territory and Exclusive Economic Zone,” Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said.
Lacierda maintained that the Reed Bank in western Palawan is a Philippine territory and not among the disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea.
“The administration has always asserted that it will dismiss out of hand any claim to what are considered integral parts of Philippine territory, such as the Recto (Reed) bank in western Palawan,” he said.
China earlier dismissed the Philippines claim over the Reed Bank.
Lacierda insisted that there should never been a question regarding the ownership of Reed Bank since it is geographically closer to the Philippines, being 80 nautical miles from Palawan compared to the little less than 500 nautical miles from China.
Lacierda said the Philippines has strengthened defenses and patrolling in West Philippine Sea particularly in the area of Reed Bank, where there is ongoing oil exploration.
He added that the Armed Forces has been preparing the Hamilton-Class cutter which the Philippine government acquired from the United States last May 13.
However, he dismissed that the improvement of defense system in the West Philippine Sea could in a way inflame the current tensions between the Philippines and China over Spratlys issue.
“In our meeting with the Defense Minister of China, we also mentioned that these acquisitions of vessels and equipments are not only for protection of our coastline but also our environmental protection as mentioned to them,” he said.
He also reiterated that the Philippines opted to settle the row with China in an amicable way.
“The administration has also always called for a peaceful, multilateral settlement with regard to contested claims in the West Philippine Sea, along the lines of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and applicable international laws, notably the UNCLOS [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea],” he said.
He again reminded all claimants to the Spratlys to refrain from making statements that would impede the resolution of the territorial dispute.
Lacierda said Philippines will continue to adopt the name West Philippine Sea to refer to the South China with no intention to inflame its territorial dispute with China.
“We are taking the cue from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and they have consistently use West Philippines Sea to refer to South China Sea,” he said.
He added that even other government agencies like Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is also adopting the name West Philippine Sea.
“We have also been using West Philippine Sea during security cluster meeting,” he said.
The Palace official pointed out that other nations have been calling South China Sea “in their own term as well”.
Like in the case of Vietnam which refer to South China Sea as East Sea.
“It is natural for us to use our own term as well,” he added.
He meanwhile clarified that there is still no policy in adopting the West Philippine Sea therefore the use of such term is not yet mandatory for all government agencies.
“Making a policy has not been discussed yet. We are just taking the cue from the DFA,” he said.
Malacañang meanwhile rejected proposal of Albay Governor Joey Salceda to boycott Chinese products in light of the tensions with China.
“We respect his opinion but, again, let me state that this is not administration’s policy,” he said.
He stressed that the Philippines has a “healthy trade” with China therefore boycotting their products “is not something that we could immediately call for without consequences on our part”. (KA/AMN/Jill Beltran/Sunnex)

Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/06/14/lawmakers-call-repeal-us-philippines-treaty-160990

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