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| Southeast Asia |
| Philippines, U.S. to Sign Defense Pact |
| 2014-04-28 |
| [AnNahar] The Philippines said it would sign an agreement on Monday with the United States to allow a greater U.S. military presence on its territory, giving it a security boost amid a bitter territorial dispute with China. A statement from the Department of National Defense on Sunday said the signing would take place in Manila on Monday morning, a few hours before U.S. President Barack Obama is due to arrive for a two-day visit. U.S. officials in Malaysia traveling with Obama confirmed the agreement would be signed between the long-time allies, which are already bound by a pact to come to each other's aid if attacked. Evan Medeiros, senior director for Asian Affairs on the National Security Council, said the deal was a "skeletal and muscular" framework that would allow the two sides to discuss rotations of U.S. troops, naval visits and training exercises. He said the deal was "the most significant agreement that we have concluded with the Philippines in decades". Medeiros dismissed the notion that Washington saw the agreement through a prism of containing China's rising military might. "We are not doing this because of China. We are doing this because we have a longstanding alliance partner. They are interested in stepping up our military-to-military" interaction, he said. But the Philippines had been pushing for the agreement to help bolster its weak military as it engages in an increasingly tense row with China over rival claims to parts of the South China Sea. The Philippine side did not reveal details of the pact on Sunday. But Filipino negotiators had previously said it would allow more U.S. troops, aircraft, and ships to pass through the Philippines. It would also allow the United States to store equipment that could be used to mobilize American forces faster -- particularly in cases of natural disasters. The deal would not allow Washington to establish a permanent base or bring in nuclear weapons, according to the Filipino negotiators. The Philippines hosted two of the largest overseas U.S. military bases until 1992, when Manila voted to end their lease amid growing anti-U.S. sentiment. The Philippines in recent years however has been seeking greater U.S. military and diplomatic support in its dispute with China. China claims most of the South China Sea, even waters close to the Philippines and other countries in the region. Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam, as well as Taiwan, also have overlapping claims to the sea, which are believed to contain vast deposits of natural gas and oil. The Philippines has accused China of becoming increasingly aggressive in staking its claims to the sea, including by taking control of a shoal far closer to the Filipino land mass than the Chinese. Chinese ships also last month tried to block vessels bringing supplies to a Philippine military outpost on a tiny reef claimed by China. The Philippines has angered China by asking a United Nations tribunal to rule on the validity of China's claims to the sea. China has refused to take part in the case, and said the Philippines' move had "seriously damaged" bilateral ties. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #5 OOOOPPPSSS, forgot VOICE OF RUSSIA > [US] STATES DON'T WANT JAPAN TO BE PROBLEM FOR USA LIKE IT WAS DURING WORLD WAR II - ANALYST [Andrey Ivanov]. and * WORLD MILITARY FORUM > LAW + OFFENSIVE MILITARY WARFARE = "LAWFARE". CHINA'S SEIZURE OF JAPANESE MERCHANT VESSEL FOR PRE-WW2 DEBT SETS DANGEROUS PRECEDENT NEW WORLD ORDER. "Lawfare" as a form or variant of [Pro-OWG Globalist?] LIMITED WAR/MILACTION where the intent is the voluntary or Military-led forced acquisition of the sovereign territory(s) andor national assets of Debtor-Nation(s) by a Vendor-Nation as payment for debt owed??? NOT GOOD NEWS FOR GUAM-WESTPAC + HAWAII + 1/2 of CONUS-NORAM??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2014-04-28 23:10 |
| #4 See also RUSSIA TODAY > RIOT POLICE CLASH WID [anti-TPP, US-PHIL Defence Pact] ANTI-OBAMA PROTESTORS IN PHILIPINES. * RELATED TOPIX > [China Daily] CHINA WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED OR COMPROMISED: ENVOY. * SAME > [Korea Herald] STRATEGIC RIVALRIES ESCALATE IN EAST ASIA. * DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [ABC-CBN] PROFESSOR: PHILIPPINES RISKS ANGRY CHINA BY JOINING [US-led, dominated] PACIFIC TRADE PACT, which does NOT include China. University of the Philippines Prof Roland Simulan. * Also from DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > VIDEO: PLA GENERAL WARNS OF POSSIBLE DANGEROUS "MISFIRES" FROM JAPANESE PROVOCATIONS AGZ CHINA IN EAST CHINA SEA. * CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > [SMH] MALCOLM FRASER WARNS AUSTRALIA RISKS WAR WID CHINA UNLESS US DEFENCE TIES ARE CUT BACK. * RELATED WORLD MILITARY FORUM > NEW ZEALAND "STUFF" MAGAZINE: US + CHINA MOVE STEADILY TOWARD MILITARY SHOWDOWN IN ASIA-PACIFIC IN WAKE OF OBAMA ASIA VISIT. * SAME > OBAMA SPLITS TAIWAN: US PRESIDENT'S REMARKS IN SUPPORT OF JAPAN IN ISLANDS DISPUTES INDICATES TAHT THE US DOES NOT CONSIDER THE DISPUTED SENKAKUS/DIAOYU ISLANDS TO BE A SOVEREIGN PART OF TAIWAN AKA THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA. * GLOBAL TIMES > OP-ED: CONTAINMENT UNLIKELY IN ASIA GEOPOLITCS. * BIGNEWSNETWORK > [Prison Planet] US BEEFS UP MILITARY OPTIONS FOR CHINAAS OBAMA REASSURES ASIA ALLIES. More USAF B-2, USN CVN NAVEXS, etc. to be held just off China's coasts + peripherals??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2014-04-28 23:01 |
| #3 Global Prompt Strike. In any case, Rising China's prob remains the on-going US entrenchment or retrenchment throughout East Asia. Again, as per "SHARING THE PACIFIC" > CHINA SEES POTENT USDOD MILBASES [include Pro-US Allied, Neutrals] EVERYWHERE JUST OFF ITS COASTS = MAJOR TRADE CORRIDORS WHILE SIMUL SEEING NO PLA MILBASES JUST OFF US COASTS OR MAJOR TRADE CORRIDORS. It is illogical or ludicrous for Globalists to desire China to be a OWG Global Fed Union(s)Co-Superpower but for China to still be isolated to only widin its borders the Asian mainland. SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY WRONG AS PER THE PREMISES OF OWG GLOBALISM, OR ELSE SOMEBODY IS SERIOUSLY LYING TO [Nuke-armed = Nuclear Club, UNSC Member-State] CHINA [etal]. * Lest we fergit, TOPIX + WORLD NEWS > HAGEL: US SUPPORTS THE MILITARIZATION OF JAPAN IN RESPONSE TO CHINA. China will very likely interprete US SecDef Hagel's remarks as the US supporting not only Japan's ABE-led "offensive" or "dual-track/use" revampment + remilitarization of the JSDF, but also JAPAN ACQUIRING OR DEV NUCLEAR WEAPONS in support of the US handing over Cold War regional security responsibilities to its East Asia allies. I highly doubt China will believe the Bammer's remarks on CNN this AM about how the new US-PHIL Pact is not meant to counter andor contain China. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2014-04-28 20:04 |
| #2 P2kontheroad: Constitution? That is soooooo 19th Century. I suspect Cmdr. Zero is enlightening his Filipino / Philipino counterpart on the majesty of Executive Orders. |
| Posted by: Uncle Phester 2014-04-28 11:04 |
| #1 It's a trap! You know they amended their Constitution after we left Subic and Clark to prohibit stationing foreign troops in country. This is like Americans buying property in Mexico within 100 km from the coast. Their Constitution prohibits it and the paper such sale are written on are worthless as soon as someone exercises the power to make it so. |
| Posted by: P2kontheroad 2014-04-28 08:39 |