By LUIS V. TEODORO Vantage Point | BusinessWorld With the shutdown of the US federal government, President Barack Obama has cancelled his visits to the Philippines and Malaysia but will still fly to Brunei and Indonesia. What seems to have driven the decision to continue with the Indonesian leg of Obama’s Asian trip is US…
Tags: VFA
US-RP framework agreement, getting more at less cost
“The US government is trying to hide behind the technicality that they would not set up a permanent military base or that their troops would only have increased rotational presence here, but as it is, US troops will always be in the country on a war footing and they can use any of our military camps to attack other countries.” – Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares
See also: Framework Agreement, new paradigm, same operations
Lutong makaw
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo Streetwise | BusinessWorld The negotiations between the Philippine and US governments is just on its first round but the results are already predictable since both sides are saying exactly the same thing about the whys and wherefores of this new “framework agreement” to supposedly lay down “general parameters and principles to guide…
New Military Bases Agreement by another name?
“The terms are so broad that we can assume that US forces will have unlimited access and indefinite stay in the Philippines, alongside the opportunity of being granted effective control of certain PH facilities for the storage of equipment and weapons and billeting of troops. All that is basing even if they don’t admit to it.” – Renato Reyes, Bayan
See also: ‘Treachery, lies,’ slammed in Malacañang’s justifications for increased US troop presence
‘Treachery, lies,’ slammed in Malacañang’s justifications for increased US troop presence
“The Aquino government is still trying to deceive the people that the US is out to help the Philippines against China. It is playing up ‘the threat of China’ while playing down the history and reality of US military interventions.” – KMU
Preempting a firestorm of protest
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo Streetwise | BusinessWorld The “Amboy” (American Boy) troika of President Aquino, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario is hard at work justifying renewed basing rights for the United States Armed Forces while making it appear that there is nothing new about what will be granted to the…
Preempting a firestorm of protest
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo Streetwise | BusinessWorld The “Amboy” (American Boy) troika of President Aquino, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario is hard at work justifying renewed basing rights for the United States Armed Forces while making it appear that there is nothing new about what will be granted to the…
Davao Left opposes Aquino govt’s ‘access arrangements’ with US, Japan military forces
“The Aquino administration only puts at risk the lives of the people because the US government only wants to position their troops in our country with the objective of waging war against China and North Korea.” — Sheena Duazo, spokesperson for Bayan in Southern Mindanao
Military denies earlier reported US troops deployment in Pablo areas, but groups wary of cover-up
Deploying US Troops to typhoon Pablo-affected areas, as Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Southern Mindanao spokesperson Sheena Duazo said, is a greater disservice to the victims who are already rendered homeless and hungry due to government neglect and corruption of rehabilitation funds.
Aquino urged to bar entry of US ships pending guidelines on ‘mishaps’
By MARYA SALAMAT
Despite the Philippine government having agreed to increased use of the country by US troops, warships and warplanes, there are no clear guidelines on what to do in cases of mishaps, accidents, etc.
Is the US Navy installing surveillance equipment, base near Tubbataha?
By MARYA SALAMAT
“The issue of Tubbataha again underscores the problems with the Visiting Forces Agreement. A crime was committed against our country and yet the Philippine government could not even conduct its own investigation of the perpetrators.” – Bayan