Palace on carrier visit: No VFA, bases discussed
May 17, 2011
MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang said yesterday the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States, as well as the re-establishment of US military bases in the country, could not possibly have been discussed during the visit of USS Carl Vinson because there were no American officials present as the carrier was docked here.
Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ricky Carandang said there was nothing more to the visit than a mere port of call, which was part of the defense cooperation between Manila and Washington, and it was surprising that it has led to a lot of speculations.
“There’s nothing more to think about. They will only be here for about four days and will leave. So there’s nothing to talk about the return of US bases,” Carandang said, responding to claims by militant and leftist groups that there was something more to the ship’s visit.
A group of militant farmers called on the Legislative Oversight on the VFA to immediately probe the docking and four-day stay of the nuclear-powered US carrier in Philippine territory because “the US (has) turned the Philippines into a US military rallying point after its interventionist attack in Pakistan.”
“The US carrier group’s entry only a month after the so-called US-RP Balikatan joint military exercises clearly shows US troops’ unhampered entry and perpetual basing in the country,” said Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) secretary-general Danilo Ramos in a statement.
The USS Carl Vinson had carried the remains of Osama bin Laden when the US government decided to bury it at sea. Carandang said the issue was not discussed at all during the tour.
The Palace also allayed fears President Aquino’s tour of the US carrier would spark a backlash from extremist groups sympathetic to slain terror leader bin Laden.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Commodore Jose Miguel Rodriguez, on the other hand, said the visit has nothing to do with the US’ global fight against terror.
“We cannot link with the death of bin Laden, because I am sure that even before the death of bin Laden, the port call of USS Carl Vinson Strike Group has already been scheduled,” Rodriguez said.
Some sectors, including those from the military and police, have expressed apprehension that the US Strike Group’s presence in the country has something to do with the slaying of bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan following a raid at his high-walled compound on May 2.
Abbottabad is the same place where former al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah bomber Umar Patek, who for years sought refuge with the homegrown Abu Sayyaf terrorists in Sulu and Basilan to escape arrest for his complicity in the Bali bombing, was also arrested by Pakistani intelligence operatives.
“I could only surmise that the arrest of Patek, the slaying of bin Laden and the USS Vinson’s visit to the country could be inter-related,” said a senior security official who requested anonymity.
The official said the presence of the carrier in the country is a good deterrent to possible future adventurism of other militaries that might compromise security in the region.
Phl acquires new coast guard ship
Meanwhile, the Philippines formally accepted on Friday the transfer of a US Coast Guard ship acquired by the government through the United States’ Foreign Military Sales program.
The Philippine embassy in Washington said Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Cuisia Jr. accepted the transfer of US Coast Guard Hamilton Cutter, a Hamilton-class cutter in Alameda, California.
Cuisia was accompanied at the ceremony by Consul General Marciano Paynor Jr., Captain Antonio Habulan of the embassy in Washington, and Colonel Edwin Erni of the Philippine National Police Office in San Francisco.
Vice Admiral Manson Brown, Commander of the US Coast Guard Pacific Area and Defense Force West, signed the transfer documents for the US government.
In his remarks during the transfer ceremony, Cuisia noted that the success of the project is an indication of the robust Philippine-US partnership and serves as an expression of the latter’s commitment to help the Philippines protect its maritime domain.
Used by the US Coast Guard, the cutter will be the largest patrol ship in the Philippine Navy. It is considered a multi-mission vessel and will be capable of operations such as search and rescue, maritime security patrols and maritime law enforcement.
Its acquisition will boost the Philippine Navy’s ability to patrol the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
The embassy said the cutter will officially become the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, with Captain Alberto Cruz at the helm.
Cruz is part of a group of eight officers and 13 enlisted personnel from the Philippine Navy who are currently undergoing training with the US Coast Guard.
The US Coast Guard is an important component in Philippine-US defense and security cooperation.
The Philippine Navy has acquired other vessels from the US Coast Guard in the past, including two 82-foot patrol boats, the USCG Point Evans and USCG Point Doran, whose transfers were effected in December 1999 and March 2001, respectively.
The US international cadet program benefits students from the Philippines who train and interact with other students at the US Coast Guard Academy located in New London, Connecticut. – Pia Lee-Brago, Jaime Laude, Rhodina Villanueva
Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=63&articleId=686820
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