PALACE DEFENDS NEW RP-US DEAL / SECURITY INCREASED 'MERCY' ARRIVAL
MANILA, MAY 25, 2006 (STAR) By Paolo Romero - Malacañang defended yesterday the new security arrangement between the Philippines and the United States that would allow US troops to take active part in the government’s efforts against cross-border threats — such as terrorism, piracy and transnational crime — and natural disasters.Philippine security officials also emphasized that the new arrangement is not a treaty but an "institutional framework" that will cover issues not specifically cited in the defense treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the two countries.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty, which deals mainly with external aggression, has become obsolete in light of the new threats confronting the two countries.
Ermita did not say whether President Arroyo had given her full backing to the new framework for the two countries’ security relations.
"Please note that with our relations with the US, we have been referring to the Mutual Defense Treaty, which is vintage 1950s. That’s a more than 50-year-old treaty and therefore the (new) security arrangement that we have is because of the advent of the different crimes that are coming out, most notably money laundering, terrorism… now we have espionage," Ermita said.
He was referring to the espionage case involving former Federal Bureau of Investigation intelligence analyst Leandro Aragoncillo, a Filipino-American who has admitted passing classified documents to opposition leaders in the Philippines.
"We have to be able to have some sort of arrangement with the US government on how to handle this exchange of information so that they can be effectively addressed," Ermita said.
He said there are many money laundering as well as graft and corruption cases being investigated by the government that require close involvement of US authorities as many of those being probed have brought their alleged ill-gotten assets to the United States.
Ermita also pointed out that terrorism and drug trafficking are recognized as global threats with extremist groups moving information and resources across countries to target foreign nationals and installations and syndicates spreading drugs across borders.
Addressing the new threats, including piracy and the spread of diseases, should be "the subject of a special arrangement that was just made between the Philippine government and the US government," Ermita said.
Close cooperation between the two countries during natural calamities is not new, he said, but a new framework could allow the Philippines to benefit from modern and faster means of responding to disasters.
He said the administration is willing to explain the new security framework with lawmakers and others concerned over the possible involvement of the US military even as he maintained that the arrangement can be covered through an executive agreement.
"For the moment, suffice it to say that it’s an executive agreement," Ermita said.
He clarified, however, that Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz has not yet given him a full briefing on the new security deal with the US, which both countries began working on about a year ago.
The accord involves setting up a new joint panel called the Security Engagement Board, described in a Philippine government statement as a "new consultative mechanism for cooperation nontraditional security concerns," including terrorism, crime, maritime safety and security, natural and man-made disasters and epidemics.
The board, co-chaired by the Philippine military chief of staff and the US Pacific commander, will develop measures to enhance cooperation between the two allies.
"The establishment of the SEB further strengthens our partnership," the statement quoted US Ambassador Kristie Kenney as saying, nothing that the Philippines was a longtime friend and NATO ally.
"The SEB is not a new treaty and would merely implement existing bilateral treaties between the Philippines and the United States," Kenney said.
US Embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop said the creation of the board was a Philippine initiative and "it will provide a clearer framework for consultations and planning to address nontraditional security concerns."
Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz said the board "affords us the opportunity to develop focused and comprehensive responses" to security threats.
"Transnational nontraditional security threats highlight the need for cooperation among nations in the face of common security challenges," he said.
Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said the new arrangement "demonstrates the Philippines’ commitment to enhance its own capability and contribute to the international effort to address these current and emerging security threats in an evolving security environment."
Manila and Washington signed the Mutual Defense Treaty in 1951, which calls for cooperation in battling external security threats in either country.
They also have also signed a Visiting Forces Agreement in 1999 that allows US forces to join large-scale military exercises in the Philippines.
Officials said the security board would allow both nations to jointly deal with terrorism and other threats not falling under the Mutual Defense Treaty.
Mrs. Arroyo is one of Asia’s most vocal backers of Washington’s global war on terror and has allowed US forces to train and arm Philippine troops battling al-Qaeda-linked militants in parts of Mindanao, the scene of decades-old separatist Muslim uprisings.
Although both governments have justified the US military presence in the south as part of authorized joint military exercises, left-wing groups have questioned the legality of US troops’ presence near southern battle zones and have demanded their withdrawal.
The Philippine Constitution forbids foreign troops from engaging in local combat.
Mindanao, home to the country’s minority Muslims, has been the scene of high-profile ransom kidnappings, beheadings, bomb attacks and acts of banditry blamed on the small but violent al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, which is on Washington’s list of terrorist organizations.
Abu Sayyaf rebels abducted three Americans from a resort in 2001. One was beheaded by the guerrillas, another was killed and the third wounded but rescued during a US-backed Philippine military commando assault. — With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Rainier Allan Ronda, AP, AFP
Security strengthened for Mercy’s visit to south By Roel Pareño The Philippine Star 05/25/2006
ZAMBOANGA CITY — Backed by American troops, the Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom) has strengthened its security amid possible attacks from the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf when the US Navy hospital Mercy holds a three-week medical mission in Mindanao starting tomorrow.
Southcom information chief Capt. Jose Richie Pabilonia said there were unconfirmed reports that the extremist Islamic group would stage sabotage operations during Mercy’s visit in Sulu, a known hotbed of local militants.
Pabilonia said coordination for the security has been mapped out, tapping local police forces and various military units under the Southcom.
"Tough security will be implemented as there are unconfirmed threats from the Abu Sayyaf to conduct atrocities while the ship holds its Sulu and Tawi-Tawi mission," Pabilonia said.
Members of the Philippine and US Navy SEALs would be deployed when Mercy sets anchor off Basilan Strait for medical missions in Zamboanga City and Basilan.
The 892-foot Mercy made her last visit during the late 1980s in this city and docked at the Navy Pier Lower Calarian.
However, US security authorities and the military here decided the ship would anchor off Basilan Strait during the eight-day mission to serve both Zamboanga and Basilan simultaneously.
US Navy Cmdr. Katty Wright, public affairs officer of the Joint Special Operation Task Force-Philippines, said the ship is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.
After Zamboanga and Basilan, Pabilonia said the USN Mercy would immediately proceed to Sulu and serve there for eight days and another eight days in Tawi-Tawi.
The anti-terror Task Force Zamboanga unit under Col. Edgardo Gidaya will take care of security on the ground.
Security in Basilan will come from the military unit of Brig. Gen. Reymundo Ferrer.
Pabilonia said the Naval Forces Western Mindanao will deploy three patrol crafts and the elements of the Naval Special Warfare Action Group and the Philippine Navy SEALs.
The US Navy will also deploy its own SEALs to jointly patrol around the vicinity where the floating US Navy hospital is docked.
Pabilonia said only patients requiring major surgery would be brought aboard the USN Mercy. Minor operations will be conducted on the shore facilities.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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