RP won’t take sides in US-China row

President Arroyo said yesterday the Philippines is the United States’ best friend in Asia but that she won’t take sides in disputes between Washington and Beijing.

"We have been friends of the US for a long time, probably their best friend in Asia," Mrs. Arroyo told her weekly news conference. "We are also friends of China. We are urging them to settle their differences amicably."

Mrs. Arroyo made the comment when asked if the United States could use the Philippines as a "staging point" for military operations in Asia.

"While the Philippines has strategic advantages, we have our own self-interests to protect," she added. "I don’t think (the US and China) need a pawn."

The Philippines was a major US military outpost during the Cold War and at the outbreak of fighting in the Pacific during World War II.

The Philippine Senate in 1992 voted not to renew leases of military bases to the US military, saying they brought crime and prostitution.

The government has made little comment amid diplomatic rows between the US and China, including the April collision between a US EP-3E spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet.

China held the 24-member US crew for 11 days after they made an emergency landing on Hainan Island in southern China. A study released earlier this month by the Rand think tank says US military strategy in Asia, which for decades has focused on Japan and North Korea, should shift south to better prepare for potential conflict over Taiwan.

Among other suggestions, the study said the US could extend security cooperation with the Philippines, not necessarily to obtain permanent basing of US forces but to allow frequent, rotating force deployments. – Aurea Calica