Aquino to press for stronger US military alliance

WASHINGTON – President Aquino will make an official visit to Washington in the spring of 2012 and press for a stronger maritime security alliance with the United States, Philippine Ambassador Jose Cuisia said.

He said the visit was likely to take place in April or May.

“We want a stronger military alliance with the United States; that’s very important particularly for our maritime security,” Cuisia said when asked what President Aquino was likely to focus on in his talks with President Barack Obama at the White House Oval Office.

Manila is ramping up its external defense capabilities in the West Philippine Sea because of rising tensions with Beijing over disputed territories said to be rich in oil and gas deposits.  

A Hamilton-class cutter that the Philippine Navy acquired from the US Coast Guard early this year and renamed BRP Gregorio del Pilar is being deployed in the area as are two other cutters that Navy hopes to get within the next 12 months.

“We are determined and committed to supporting the defense of the Philippines, and that means trying to find ways of providing affordable material and equipment that will assist the Philippine military to take the steps necessary to defend itself,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has told Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario.

At a luncheon he hosted for the Fil-Am media on Wednesday, Cuisia said support for the Save Our Industries act among US legislators was growing.

He expressed confidence the measure which seeks to allow Philippine-made apparel using US fabrics to enter the United States duty free would pass in the new year because of the firm backing of Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii.

Inouye is a strong supporter of the Philippines and if anyone can get the SAVE bill through it will be him, Cuisia said.

On other matters, he said the embassy was continuing its lobbying for the reinstatement by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the Philippines’ Category 1 status in international aviation safety. 

The FAA downgraded the aviation safety status of the Philippines in 2008 from Category 1 to Category 2, effectively banning Filipino carriers from expanding operations in the US.

Cuisia said one of the highlights of the embassy’s accomplishments in 2011 was an increase in the budgetary allocation for the Philippines proposed by President Obama, from $123.27 million to $144.66 million.