‘Non-approval of MLSA may affect US military aid to RP’

Last minute hitches with the Mutual Logistics and Support Agreement (MLSA) will do more harm than good.

An official of the US State Department told The STAR yesterday that the non-approval of the MLSA could adversely affect the flow of US military aid to the country.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell will ask the Philippine government to draw up clear and long-term plans for the utilization of the $55-million counterterror aid granted to the Philippines by the US government when he arrives in Manila in the first week of August, the US official added.

According to the US State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Washington is very surprised over the controversy generated by the proposed MLSA because such pacts are considered routine documents by the US and its European allies, though this agreement goes by another name: the Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA).

He said that since 2001, the level of military aid granted to the country by the US has increased significantly, and all indications from the US Congress point to more assistance in the future. Some $100 million in military aid was committed to the Philippines by US President George Bush in November last year.

The official said RP-US relations have never been more robust since the post-bases era, yet these relations are also at a critical juncture, with both governments trying to chart a stronger mutually beneficial relationship.

"The ACSA/MLSA is the most routine military-to-military document that you could possibly have. Failure to sign it would send us, Congress, a signal that the Philippines is not quite there yet, but that’s not necessarily negative," the official added.

According to him, "all the money is now on the table. It’s time see what the Philippines has to offer."

He said the US government would fully understand if the MLSA would not be approved by Malacañang. However, without the MLSA, the military-to-military relations between the Philippines and the US would be limited, citing the difficulties experienced by Pakistan and the US during the first stages of the anti-terrorism campaign in Afghanistan.

Pakistan and the US had no agreement similar to the MLSA, though Pakistan was the staging point of the war on terror which eventually resulted in the toppling of the Taliban regime in neighboring Afghanistan.

The US official added that there is nothing in the MLSA draft document that will require the re-establishment of US bases in the country or the permanent assignment of troops in the country: "‘MLSA is just a perspective of an ally who wants a relationship to be robust. Nobody in the US would consider (the MLSA) a seminal event, a big boon or a dramatic event in the US, but it is important on the operational side."

Referring to the final ejection of the US air base Clark, Pampanga and the Subic naval facility in Olongapo, Zambales in 1992, the official said: "‘92 is done. We get it. It’s over. We won’t do it. There will be no Clark and Subic 2, like EDSA II."

He said Powell will express the US government’s gratitude to the Philippines and acknowledge the sacrifices of its people in the global war on terrorism. The US Secretary of State will also help map out long-term counter-terrorist programs using the assistance granted by his government to the Philippines.

This cooperation, the US official said, proves that the Philippines "is a friend" and that the increase in military aid to the Philippines is the US government’s way of expressing its appreciation for that support.

The US official aired the sentiments of his government: "We can’t have a four- to five-month exercise then stop and think of what to do next. We are looking at a military that can sustain itself."

The source added that the US government is looking forward to working with Sen. Blas Ople, who assumes the post of Foreign Affairs Secretary two months from now.

US Ambassador to Manila Francis Ricciardone said there is a necessity to make the MLSA an executive agreement, since it is only a "relatively low agreement" that involves only accounting procedures.

Ricciardone added that the MLSA will be useful in the speedy acquisition of supplies and services: "We shall be out by July 31, so the sooner (it is signed), the better."

The US envoy also allayed fears that if the MLSA is not signed the US troops will carry off all the infrastructure they have built in Zamboanga and Basilan. According to him, to do such a thing would merely cost the US government more money than the construction of these projects did.

"MLSA will be MLSA. We will not be building bases here. We’re not going to have stealth programs and have bases here," Ricciardone said.

Ricciardone added that some 80 other countries that have a similar agreement with the US do not invoke constitutional prohibitions: "Very few of those countries are treaty allies, actually. They didn’t raise constitutional issues."