Nothing definite yet on reported deployment of US servicemen in Palawan

MANILA, Philippines – There is nothing definite yet on the reported deployment of US servicemen in Palawan, according to the United States embassy in Manila.

US embassy spokesperson Tina Malone yesterday said “all these talks (of deployment) must first go through various levels of discussions.”

Palawan is the nearest point to the hotly contested Spratly archipelago, also being claimed by China.

Malone said all US military engagements and activities in the country are being done after thorough planning and with approval from the Philippine government.

Under the Visiting Forces Agreement, around 500 US servicemen are deployed on a rotation basis in various areas of Mindanao.

All these US troops are under the Joint Special Operations Task Force (JSOTF).

The US military leadership was reportedly planning to relocate its JSOTF base from the Western Mindanao Command headquarters in Zamboanga City to Palawan.

A military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said if the transfer plan pushes through, the Western Command in Palawan, would accommodate US servicemen.

“We are talking here of a transfer or relocation and not forward and permanent deployment of US servicemen,” he said.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin has denied the US plan to establish an advance US Marines command post in Palawan, saying this was never discussed in his meetings with US officials.