DND tells US: No need to review VFA

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of National Defense (DND) does not see an immediate need to review the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) despite a proposal by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago to scrap the controversial accord.

“There are other things we are concerned about that we should be working on. We will just wait for the actions of the good senator instead of speculating on what will happen,” DND spokesman Eduardo Batac said in an interview yesterday after the 52nd Mutual Defense Board meeting at Camp Aguinaldo. Also present at the briefing was the chief of the US Pacific Command.

“It (VFA) is there and it will continue to stay there,” he added.

The DND spokesman said they will just await the action of the Senate on Santiago’s proposal.

“This matter is being taken up by the Senate. It has been presented. We will wait for the debates or action on this,” Batac said.

“Well we will just heed the recommendations of the legislators. When there is necessity for us, we will review it (VFA),” he added.

Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Lt. Gen. Ricardo David declined to comment on efforts to terminate the VFA. He however said the military will continue to implement the VFA for now.

“The policy statement should be coming from the defense department and the president as well as Congress,” David said at the press briefing.

“We are soldiers and we will execute the treaties and policies laid by the government,” he added.

In the same briefing, US Pacific Command chief Adm. Robert Willard said they continue to regard VFA as an important agreement.

“We consider the VFA to be an integral part of our association with the Armed Forces of the Philippines. We get great support from the Armed Forces of the Philippines with regard to its implementation,” Willard said.

“We think it (VFA) is an important agreement between our two nations and it continues to serve us well,” he added.

The VFA, which allows American troops to conduct military training in the Philippines with their Filipino counterparts, was ratified by the Senate in 1999.

Early this week, Santiago filed a joint resolution urging Congress to terminate the VFA, saying that the US does not regard it as a treaty.

“The Constitution states that the country adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land. Just like any other law, it is within the powers of Congress to unilaterally terminate the VFA through a joint resolution,” she said.

The senator said the VFA is suffering from flaws including its failure to state how long the American troops can stay in the country and define the “activities” that they can engage in while in the Philippines.

Palace officials have said that President Aquino is open to reviewing the VFA.

Lacks firepower

Meantime, David admitted yesterday that the military lacks the firepower to defend the country’s territory in an event a shooting war breaks out in the highly volatile South China Sea, specifically in the Spratly Islands.

“The Philippines must now procure or have this minimal (military) asset. This is what we are asking from our people and Congress so that we can have a credible force in the South China Sea,” David said.

David was reacting to reports that aside from China, Taiwan and Malaysia, Vietnam has acquired or is acquiring a fleet of diesel-fed Kilo Class Submarine from Russia as the Hanoi government is said to be bolstering its military might in the region to back its territorial claim on the Spratlys.

The Philippines, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei have interlocking territorial claims in the Spratlys, a group of islands and islets straddling the South China Sea.

“There is an equilibrium (of power) in the area (Spratlys). There are Chinese, Vietnamese. We also occupy some of the islands and at the moment, we maintain good diplomatic relations with China... As much as possible we do not want any confrontation,” David said, citing the military’s limited military capability to fight other forces in the area with its aging gunboats and warplanes.

For his part, Willard said the US military is closely monitoring the security development in the entire Southeast Asian region, giving emphasis on China’s increased military expansionism, particularly during the past 10 years, over the South China Sea.

Willard urged friendly military forces in the region to bring these security concerns (military expansionism) to the attention of the Chinese government, as what the US government is doing to address the brewing conflict in the region.

On the other hand, Willard said the US military is not at all concerned with Vietnam and Malaysia buying submarines, saying that it is but logical for any Southeast Asian nation to invest and develop their respective military and security apparatus to protect their territorial waters.

“At the end of the day, we have to show that we can all contribute to the peace and the continued security of the China Sea region and through Southeast Asia. So this is about preventing conflict. We are not allowing any of the circumstances in the region to lead up to a shooting war,” Willard said.

In the case of the Philippines, Willard said he is looking forward to working continually with the AFP in order to address its defense needs.

Willard in Malacañang

President Aquino welcomed Willard during a courtesy call yesterday afternoon at the Premiere Guest House in Malacañang.

Admiral Willard was accompanied by his Executive Assistant Capt. Mike Smith and US Ambassador Harry Thomas.

Also present were David and Defense Undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino.

Willard has already conducted several visits in the country as part of the US-Philippines security cooperation and partnership particularly in combating terrorism. – With Jaime Laude, Aurea Calica