Philippines seeks broader influence with Aquino-Obama meet

WASHINGTON D.C. - The Philippines seeks to broaden its influence here as it looks to the United States to expand military and economic assistance to the country when President Aquino calls on President Obama next week.

Philippine Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr. revealed the two leaders will hold an afternoon meeting at the White House that will involve the “full gamut” of US-Philippine relations. But he indicated regional security and trade issues are likely to dominate discussions.
President Aquino is scheduled to arrive at Andrews Air Base in Maryland Wednesday (June 6) evening but his first major events will begin the next day.

Cuisia said one highlight of his visit will be the launching of the US-Philippine Society that is jointly chaired by businessman Manny Pangilinan and former State department official and US ambassador to Manila John Negroponte.

Former US Ambassador John Maisto is president of the society.

Other countries have also formed similar groups in Washington DC, primarily to promote their specific interests in the vast US government bureaucracy.
Cuisia revealed the society has invited key US executives, lawmakers and business leaders to join the group.

According to the brochure, the US-Philippine Society aims to “strengthen educational, cultural, tourism and people-to-people ties, with emphasis on educational exchanges.”
But in this town, “education” is usually a euphemism for “lobbying” or trying to influence decision-makers in and outside the US government. The Philippines, for instance, is trying to push the SAVE Act, potentially the first trade agreement in nearly half a century, and greater access to surplus military equipment.

The Aquino-Obama summit is also expected to build on agreements forged during the series of top-level meetings including last month’s 2x2 conference of State Secretary Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta with their Filipino counterparts, and the US-Philippine Strategic Dialogue last January.

Those meetings reiterated US commitment to the Philippines under the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), setting the groundwork for expanded military assistance for the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Cuisia challenged the view the MDT cannot be invoked if the Philippines is attacked in disputed isles like Scarborough Shoal or the Spratly Islands.

He was reacting to a May 15 editorial in the Manila Mail, the longest-running Fil-Am newspaper in the Metro DC region that argued they were not parts of the Philippines when the MDT was ratified 60 years ago and therefore excluded from the reciprocity guaranteed by the military pact.

Cuisia cited a January 1979 letter from then US State Secretary Cyrus Vance that said an attack didn’t have to occur only in Philippine metropolitan or island territories as long as it falls under the definition of “Pacific Area”. A subsequent letter from US Ambassador to the Philippines Thomas Hubbard 2 decades later expanded the definition of “Pacific Area” to the South China Sea.

These, along with other official declarations, bolster the Philippine’s belief that the US would come to its aid if attacked in Scarborough Shoal, the Spratlys or other parts of the South China Sea where the Philippines have legitimate territorial claims, the envoy indicated.

Cuisia told ABS-CBN News the White House meeting was important as the Philippines stakes its place in America’s strategic pivot to the Asia-Pacific region.
Although merely a working visit, the White House encounter has been over 2 years in the making.

This meeting also almost didn’t push through because of President Obama’s tight schedule as he campaigns for a 2nd term.

There are about 3.4 million Filipino Americans according to the 2010 Census, making them the 2nd biggest Asian American group in the US. Although traditionally conservative with a history of backing Republican candidates, over 58 percent of Fil-Ams went for Democratic Barack Obama in 2008.

Philippine officials here have tied a campaign to push absentee voter registration for the next polls back home to urging Fil-Ams to register and vote in the US November elections.
President Aquino does not have scheduled meetings with the Fil-Am community here but will instead meet with them in Los Angeles, California after the June 8 White House meeting, Cuisia said.

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Rodney Jaleco | ABS-CBN North America | May 31, 2012 | Article Link

China's Sea Claims Excessive, Says US

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says that China’s claims in the South China Sea exceed what is permitted by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

She added that US failure to approve the UNCLOS weakens its advocacy for allies in the disputed South China Sea.

Clinton was speaking at a hearing Wednesday of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, where she and top military leaders offered an impassioned plea for the US to join the pact.

To China’s chagrin, the Obama administration has asserted since 2010 that although the US is not itself a claimant state in the South China Sea, it has an interest in the peaceful resolution of the disputes and in the freedom of navigation in waters that carry a large chunk of global trade.

Clinton said the US supports countries “being threatened” by China’s claims.

“As a non-party, we cede the legal high ground to China. We put ourselves on the defensive. We are not as strong an advocate for our friends and allies in the region as I would like us to be, and I don’t think that’s any place for the world’s pre-eminent maritime power to find ourselves,” she said.

China is among the more than 160 nations that are party to the convention. Its expansive claims in the South China Sea are disputed by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines, a US treaty ally.

The convention was concluded in 1982 and has been in force since 1994. Republican opposition has stalled US approval for years although the military says it still acts in accordance with the pact’s principles.

Despite considerable bipartisan support and the backing of pro-business groups, Democrat committee chairman Sen. John Kerry acknowledged the difficulty in moving the treaty, especially in an election year in the United States. Several Republican lawmakers voiced opposition Wednesday to the convention.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, said US endorsement would strengthen US security interests as it would provide clarity in definition of navigational rights and maritime zones — at a time of growing competition for resources.

“And from that clarity comes stability. And as we now begin to rebalance our security interests into the Pacific, this becomes very important,” Dempsey said.

Democrat Sen. Barbara Boxer criticized Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea. She produced a map to show the claims extended far beyond China’s own 200-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone and amounted to a “significant territorial grab that comes very close to the land borders of countries in the region.”

She referred to the standoff at the Scarborough Shoal that began last month when the Philippines navy accused Chinese fishermen of poaching within its exclusive zone.

The Philippines accused China on Wednesday of sending more government and fishing vessels to the uninhabited, horseshoe-shaped shoal. Manila says China has a total of 96 ships, fishing boats and dinghies there, while the Philippines has two.

Rising power China has turned down a Philippine invitation for international arbitration of the dispute.

Beijing’s position in the South China Sea disputes is based on ancient maps. A map it submitted to the UN in 2009 claims virtually the entire South China Sea, but Beijing has failed to clarify the exact extent of its claims.

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Manila Bulletin | May 24, 2012 | Article Link

Philippines using US smart bombs

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Concealed by the night sky, the two aging Philippine air force planes unleashed a surprise high-tech weapon: U.S. satellite-guided bombs that whizzed down with deadly precision toward a long-elusive terrorist suspect and two other top radicals dozing with their men in Jolo Island's jungle.

The use of smart bombs, confirmed to The Associated Press by four senior Philippine security officials, marks a new chapter in the long-running battle against an al-Qaida-linked movement in the southern Philippines, viewed by the U.S. as a key front in the global effort to keep terrorists at bay.

Successive blasts shattered a hillside rebel encampment of Abu Sayyaf, which remains one of Southeast Asia's most violent groups despite a decade of battle losses. The Vietnam War-era turboprops roared away after delivering a bull's-eye hit near mountainous Parang town around 3 a.m. on Feb. 2.

Thermal imaging from a U.S. drone, described by two of the senior officials, depicted the aftermath: Several slain gunmen lay amid a clutter of destroyed trees, huts and tents, while survivors pulled away the dead and wounded in the pitch darkness.

Although it remains unclear whether all three of the most-wanted terrorists were killed, the introduction of smart bombs reflects shifting battlefields and strategies.

The U.S. has been assisting the Philippine military since shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, providing advice, training, and intelligence, including drone surveillance, but the smart bombs are the first major high-tech hardware supplied to the Philippines.

They offer a less manpower-intensive way to combat Abu Sayyaf at a time when both the Philippines and the U.S. militaries want to focus resources on tensions with China in the South China Sea. They also dovetail with a change in recent years from massive offensives to surgical, intelligence-driven strikes that target holdouts of the battered Abu Sayyaf.

The four senior officials said the strike on the Abu Sayyaf lair employed GPS-guided bombs, a previously unavailable technology acquired from the United States under a confidential military assistance project. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren't authorized to discuss those details with the media.

A Philippine military document detailing the project, a copy of which was seen by the AP, said that U.S. defense contractor Raytheon Co. was to deliver 22 kits last year to convert conventional bombs into precision-guided munitions that could be launched from the OV-10 turboprop. Accompanying that was crew training, equipment upgrades to allow the OV-10s to deploy the bombs and two test runs.

A military spokesman, Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos, said the Armed Forces of the Philippines "neither confirms nor denies the existence of such munitions citing operational security reasons. However, its pilots have been training vigorously to further improve their proficiency particularly in the precise delivery of munitions to its identified target."

Many Western, Middle Eastern and Asian countries have acquired smart bombs since they were first widely used by the U.S.-led coalition in the 1990-91 Gulf War. They have guidance kits and fins and use the U.S. GPS satellite system, laser and other technologies to zero in on targets.

Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin praised "the carefully planned precision attack" in a statement days after the strike. The well-planned assault, he said, avoided the military casualties often incurred in ground raids.

Gazmin would not respond to questions about the new bombs in an interview with The AP last week, but he said that technology from the Americans has given the military lifesaving skills such as enabling pilots to fly at night. Training with U.S. forces has focused on ways to avoid harming noncombatants and wasting resources, he said, citing last month's airstrike.

"We were able to trace that they were all together at a certain time so that was the time to hit," Gazmin said. "So we took off early morning and bombed them, delivering four bombs. We were successful."

The Philippine military announced that a top Malaysian terrorist suspect, Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, was among the dead, along with Singaporean martial arts instructor Muhamda Ali — whose rebel name is Muawiyah — and Abu Sayyaf commander Gumbahali Umbra Jumdail.

But doubts have arisen about the fates of the two foreign terrorists, and two government reports seen by the AP contend that Marwan and Muawiyah survived the airstrike with minor wounds after they heard the buzz of the OV-10s and fled.

Between nine to 15 militants were killed in the barrage but others quickly dragged away the dead, making it difficult to confirm who was killed, according to military officials.

Marwan is on the FBI list of most-wanted terrorists and has a $5 million bounty on his head. Jumdail had been a key target because he sheltered foreign radicals such as Marwan and Muawiyah and has been blamed for deadly bombings and kidnappings.

The military presumes they are dead until an investigation shows otherwise, spokesman Burgos said, though he added that huge cash rewards for informants who helped find the militants have been put on hold.

The airstrike shook the militants, according to the government reports. The precision of the attack, and that it came in the dark, told them that they were being targeted by more advanced technology. It also indicated there were government spies in their ranks and reinforced fears that harboring foreign fugitives would make them magnets for attack.

"They have become very wary of things and equipment that are being brought into their camp, suspecting these were laden with beacons that can be used to track them," Gazmin said.

Marwan and Muawiyah were lying low with gunmen in a Jolo mountain stronghold, the government reports said, but the Abu Sayyaf commander in the area, Radulan Sahiron, ordered them out.

Sahiron, who is in his 70s and the group's most senior commander, has long been wary of outsiders — unlike Jumdail, who also had been treating ill villagers as a quack doctor, providing a window for government surveillance.

The Abu Sayyaf — or Bearer of the Sword — was founded in 1991 on southern Basilan Island. With an unwieldy collective of preachers and outlaws, it vowed to wage jihad, or holy war, but lost its key leaders early in combat, sending it on a violent path of extremism and criminality.

Today, it has degenerated into a few loose factions with 381 ragtag fighters and no central leader. But the group remains resilient and is more violent, a military assessment said, citing 74 atrocities committed last year, including 17 kidnappings, 16 bombings and 14 killings and ambushes — far more than each of the five previous years.

Still its setbacks are reflected in a poster of the most-wanted terrorists printed nearly 10 years ago by the U.S. and Philippine governments. Of the 24 portraits, 19 have been killed or captured. The deaths of two — Marwan and Jumdail — are unconfirmed. Only three others remain at large.

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The Philippine Star | March 22, 2012 | Article Link

U.S. military seeks more access in Philippines

MANILA (Reuters) - The United States is seeking more access toPhilippines ports and airfields to re-fuel and service its warships and planes, diplomatic and military sources said on Thursday, expanding its presence at a time of tension with China in the South China Sea.

But it is not trying to reopen military bases there.

Washington's growing cooperation in the Philippines, a U.S. ally which voted to remove huge American naval and air bases 20 years ago, follows the U.S. announcement last year of plans to set up a Marine base in northern Australia and possibly station warships in Singapore.

It also coincides with diplomatic and military friction in the South China Sea and its oil-rich Spratly Islands, which are subject to disputed claims by China, the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations.

Last month, senior Philippine defense and foreign affairs officials met their U.S. counterparts in Washington to discuss ways to increase the number and frequency of joint exercises, training, ship and aircraft visits and other activities.

"It's access, not bases," a foreign affairs department official familiar with the strategic dialogue told Reuters.

"Our talks focus on strengthening cooperation on military and non-military activities, such as disaster response and humanitarian assistance, counter-terrorism, non-proliferation. There were no discussions about new U.S. bases," he said.

These activities would allow the U.S. military more access in the Philippines, stretching its presence beyond local military facilities and training grounds into central Cebu province or to Batanes island near the northern borders with Taiwan.

U.S. ships and aircraft are seeking access for re-supply, re-fueling and repairs, not just for goodwill visits, exercises and training activities, the diplomat said.

The Philippines was ruled by the United States for nearly five decades between the departure of the Spanish and the Japanese occupation during the Second World War, and is now one of its foremost allies in Asia, despite expelling the U.S. from its former military bases at Clark and Subic Bay in 1992.

Since 1987, the Philippine constitution has explicitly banned a permanent foreign military presence. But Washington maintains close military ties under a 1951 defense treaty, and its special forces have been helping the Philippine military combat Islamic militants in the south of the country since 2002.

A Filipino diplomat said Washington's expanding presence is allowed under the under a 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement and a 2002 Mutual Logistics Support Agreement.

The issue is likely to be raised during a visit to Manila from Friday by U.S. Assistant Secretary Andrew Shapiro, senior advisor on political-military affairs to Secretary Hillary Clinton.

U.S. MILITARY "HARDWARE"

Apart from training and exercises, the two countries discussed U.S. military assistance, including equipment and data to enhance "domain awareness" in the South China Sea.

A second Hamilton-class cutter will be transferred to the Philippine Navy this year and a possible third second-hand cutter was also discussed, the diplomat added.

"On our side, we're also trying to explore ways on how to access newer U.S. military hardware through innovative financial schemes other than the usual channels," the foreign affairs official said.

Military sources said Manila was studying leasing newer offshore patrol vessels, larger sealift and support vessels and lead-in fighter trainer aircraft.

Last month, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told reporters Manila is also considering a proposal from the United States Pacific Command to deploy P3C-Orion spy planes in the country to help monitor movements and activities in the South China Sea.

The disputed ownership of oil-rich reefs and islands in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in trade sails annually, is one of the biggest security threats in Asia. Beijing says it has historical sovereignty over the South China Sea, superseding claims of other countries.

Tension over the region and the U.S. plans to expand its military operations in the Asia-Pacific, long an issue with China, could well come up in talks when China's leader-in-waiting Xi Jingping visits Washington next week.

China has expressed misgivings about the Obama administration's shift to raise its security role in the region at a time when Beijing is expanding its own military reach.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Command's proposal to deploy spy planes came two months after State and Pentagon officials offered to share surveillance data on the South China Sea during talks with Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario in June 2011.

Last year, Del Rosario repeatedly protested against China's activities and intrusions into Philippine maritime territories, including an attempt to ram a survey ship exploring oil and gas in the South China Sea. Manila had accused China's ships of crossing into its maritime borders nearly a dozen times in 2011.

The Philippines has welcomed plans by the United States to shift more attention in the Asia and Pacific region and senior officials said an expanded U.S. military presence could enhance peace and stability.

"For us, it would boost our deterrent capability to stop intrusions into our territories," said the diplomat.

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(Editing by Jason Szep and Jonathan Thatcher)

By Manuel Mogato | Reuters

Yahoo News Online

Link

Philippines asks US lawmakers' help for Cutters, F-16s

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario on Saturday sought help from United States lawmakers in acquiring new equipment for "territorial defense."

Del Rosario followed up the Philippines' request for such equipment during a meeting with a seven-member United States congressional delegation.

A news release posted on the DFA website early Sunday said del Rosario stressed "the Philippines' urgent need for additional Weather High Endurance  Cutters (WHEC) and a squadron of F-16s."

He cited measures being undertaken by the Aquino administration to "respect human rights and the rule of law and end the culture of impunity."

Leading the delegation was US House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Rep. Harold Rogers.

Other members of the delegation included Reps. Norman Dicks, Ander Crenshaw, Rodney Alexander, Steven LaTourette, Tom Cole, and Michael Simpson.

Among the issues covered during the meeting were the West Philippine Sea and the need to enhance Philippine maritime domain awareness, trade and economic relations, human rights, ASEAN and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and security in the Asia-Pacific region.

During the meeting, del Rosario also sought the American legislators' support on the enactment into law of the Save Our Industries Act (SAVE Act).

This would be a "win-win" proposition because it will increase U.S. textile exports and Philippine garment exports, he said.

Also, the SAVE Act aims to slash US tariffs on certain categories on Philippine-produced garments made of U.S. fabrics or yarns.

The DFA release said the US legislators committed to discuss these issues with the members of the U.S. executive branch and "keep an eye on them."

"Certainly we can attest to the fact that this administration is doing all it can to right the wrongs of the past. We want you to know that we want you to achieve your goals," it quoted Rogers as saying.

Present at the meeting was US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. — LBG, GMA News
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January 15, 2012 10:22am
GMA News Online
Link

Should President Aquino discuss scuttling the VFA?

ANOTHER successful joint Philippine-US military and community-service exercise ended on Friday lauded by government officials and most ordinary Filipinos but, as usual, reviled by left-of-center Filipinos.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is arriving in Manila on November 15.

Should President Benigno Aquino 3rd use the opportunity to scuttle the Visiting Forces Agreement—and please not only the National Democratic Front and the Philippine communists but also nationalist moderates calling for the abrogation of the VFA?

It has been officially announced that Secretary Clinton will be in Manila “to discuss a wide range of bilateral and multilateral issues with President Aquino.”

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario confirmed the news that the Philippines will be one her stops after the APEC Summit in Hawaii and the ASEAN Summit in Bali, Indonesia.

She was also here for two days in November 2009. She had a meeting with then President Gloria Arroyo. Her visit gained special meaning and boosted the long-standing sense of special Philippine-US friendship because it occasioned the delivery of American aid for victims of the devastation caused by Typhoon Ondoy and the unusually destructive floods that crippled Metro Manila.

But her arrival was met by protests, especially from militants campaigning for the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement.

The anti-VFA voices became angrier after President Aquino’s trip to the US and meeting with President Barack Obama in 2010.

Before his departure, the leftwing partylist Bayan Muna filed a resolution in the House of Representatives calling on the President “to initiate the abrogation of the VFA and demand the immediate withdrawal of US troops in the Philippines” in his meeting with the US President September 20-26 2010.

In the House resolution filed by Bayan Muna Congressmen Teddy Casino and Neri Javier Colmenares, they claimed that “the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the presence of US troops in the country are significant focal points of RP-US relations after the Filipino people, through the Senate, rejected the renewal of the RP-US Military Bases Agreement on September 16, 1991. The VFA is a bilateral agreement which allows the entry of US troops, materiel and establishment of US military facilities throughout the country.”

They also claimed in the resolution that “19 years hence [after the Senate rejection of the RP-US military bases], US forces are back in the country not on a visiting status, but on a permanent basis.

The 11-year old VFA has paved the way for the permanent presence of US troops and establishment of facilities throughout the country through the agreement’s vague provisions on the number, duration and stay of troops” and that “since 2002, US troops have never left the country following the year-round joint military exercises coupled with humanitarian missions mostly in areas which are known strongholds of armed revolutionary organizations. Various reports have been documented throughout the years of US troops’ involvement in direct combat operations which are explicit violations of the VFA and the Constitution.”

Virtually the same words are used the Philippine National Democratic Front in calling for the abrogation of the VFA.

Government officials, however, especially those of the Defense Department and of Foreign Affairs have nothing against the VFA.

In last Friday’s PHILBEX closing ceremonies, Filipino and US officials — Undersecretary Edilberto Adan, director of the government’s VFA Commission, US Ambassador Harry Thomas and military officers of both countries — lauded the continuing operation of the VFA and the many exercises and activities being conducted under it.

They reiterated that this 28th RP-US Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) 2012, in which 1,000 Filipino soldiers and more than 2,000 US servicemen participated, one more affirmed the years of firm friendship and mutually beneficial bilateral relationship of the Philippines and the USA.

PHIBLEX 2012 was formally opened last October 17 at the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) Headquarters in Fort Bonifacio.

As planned and expected this PHIBLEX course fortified the tactical skills of Filipino Marines but at the same time gave their American counterparts new experiences.

“Designed to improve interope-rability, operational readiness and maintain stability throughout the region, ” PHIBLEX allowed members of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) to participate in training exercises that included live-fire maneuvers and amphibious operations.

The troops also engaged in several engineering and civil action projects like building classrooms and medical and dental outreach assistance to host communities in Palawan and Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija; Basa Air Base in Clark, Pampanga; the Marine Barracks Gregorio Lim in Ternate, Cavite; Crow Valley in Tarlac; the Naval Station San Miguel in San Antonio, Zambales aside from the forests and beaches in Palawan province.

The inclusion of Palawan as a military training ground triggered rumors that this 128th PHIBLEX was deliberately organized to show US and Philippine collaboration in the disputes over some of the Spratly islands, located in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), that are parts of Palawan province.

Both US and Philippine officials and military leaders disclaimed the 128th PHIBlez connection with the Spratlys conflicts.

US Brig. General Craig Timberlake immediately declared that over the years, with the US-Philippine VFA exercises being annual, some of the PHIBLEX had already been done in Palawan just as this one.

He said these maritime exercises are for the Philippines and US to develop closer partnership and for the improvement of the skills of soldiers of both cuntries.

The closing ceremony of the 28th RP-US AMPHIBIOUS LANDING EXERCISE (PHIBLEX) that officially ended on October 28, Friday, was attended by top military officials, government representatives and exercise participants.

It benefited thousands of Filipinos through the PHIBLEX’s humanitarian projects.
Marine Commandant, Major General Rustico O Guerrero AFP was the keynote speaker. He emphasized the mutual significance of the bilateral training.

United States Ambassador Harry Thomas and the Executive Director of the Visiting Forces
Agreement Commission Undersecretary Edilberto P. Adan were among those who attended the closing Ceremony.

From day one of the PHIBLEX, Philippine Exercise Director, Brigadier General Eugenio N Clemen AFP expressed his confidence that the bilateral training would enhance the Philippine Marine Corps’ effectiveness in its operations against internal and external security missions. He also noted that the humanitarian assistance projects would help the communities where the Philippine Marines are deployed.

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Source

28th joint PH, US Marines amphibious training benefits thousands of Pinoys

Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City: The 28th RP-US AMPHIBIOUS LANDING EXERCISE (PHIBLEX) officially ended here on October 28, 2011 in a closing ceremony, attended by top military officials, government representatives and exercise participants.

It benefitted thousands of local residents from the humanitarian projects provided through the exercise.

Marine Commandant Major General Rustico O Guerrero AFP was the keynote speaker. He emphasized the mutual significance of the bilateral training.

United States Ambassador Harry Thomas and the Executive Director of the Visiting Forces Agreement Commission Undersecretary Edilberto P. Adan were among those who attended the closing ceremony.

From day one of the PHIBLEX, Philippine Exercise Director, Brigadier General Eugenio N Clemen AFP expressed his confidence that the bilateral training would enhance the Philippine Marine Corps’ effectiveness in its operations against internal and external security missions. He also noted that the humanitarian assistance projects would help the communities where the Philippine Marines are deployed.

Brigadier General Craig Timberlake, the United States Exercise Director, said he delighted with the success of this year’s bilateral exercise, and sees the continued good relations and partnership of the Philippines and the United States in maintaining peace and effecting rapid response in serving the people.

This year’s exercise displayed the robust defense partnership of the Philippines and the United States. It gave primacy to effective interoperability on disaster response preparedness, community development and humanitarian assistance projects.

Thousands of residents of local communities in Cavite, Taguig City and various municipalities of Palawan benefited from the medical and engineering civic projects. The success of the RP-US military training exercises like the PHIBLEX can also be attributed to the diligent participation of AFP reservists and the cooperation of concerned local government units.

The joint military training exercises aimed to formulate and assess concepts for the Unilateral Defense Plan (UDP). Furthermore, it also envisioned evaluating concepts for transition from UDP to Bilateral Defense Plan (BDP) to Post-Conflict response.

The different military exercises such as the mechanized amphibious landing in Zambales, small boat raid in Palawan, combined arms live firing in Tarlac, special operations and martial arts in Cavite, artillery operations in Nueva Ecija, Helo Raid in Clark and BASA Airbase, and many others, have been conducted to improve interoperability between the two countries.

The United States Marine Corps troops are scheduled to return to Okinawa, Japan as the exercise events, particularly the engineering projects, are completed. Filipino Marines participating in the exercise will also return to their respective units with renewed vigor and strengthened capabilities.

Meanwhile, the local communities will have to enjoy the projects generated from the conduct of PHIBLEX.

The holding of PHIBLEX 2012 perpetuates a long and lasting partnership founded firmly on common heritage between freedom-loving countries committed to the preservation of liberty and democracy.

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[1st Lt. Tindog is the Director of the Public Affairs Office of the Philippine Marine Corps.]

Written by : 1Lt Cherryl Pontillas-Tindog PN(M)

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/sunday-times/front-pages/10263-28th-joint-ph-us-marines-amphibious-training-benefits-thousands-of-pinoys

How a US combat logistics unit served the PH, US marines

CROW VALLEY, Philippines: The importance of logistics is well known throughout the US Marine Corps.
It was the knowledge of logistics that made the amphibious landings at Incheon, North Korea, so successful for the Marine Corps, because it effectively cut North Korean supply lines which ultimately
crippled their army.

The 130 Marines of Combat Logistics Battalion 31, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, applied their logistic knowledge to keep Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 31st MEU operating in the field.

The 31st MEU participated in the annual, bilateral Amphibious Landing Exercise in the Republic of the Philippines.

Although this was an exercise, the work of the Marines of CLB 31 was still vital. They ensured that Marines of the BLT are properly supplied by providing them with equipment and logistic support, allowing them to remain effective.

“Our main mission is to support the BLT,” said 2nd Lt. Elizabeth Harrington, the S-4 assistant officer in charge and maintenance management officer. “Our main focus is to provide food, water fuel and ammunition, but we also get to coordinate with the Philippine Marines to do some bilateral support training.”

It was the Marines of CLB 31 that set up the entire camp in Crow Valley. Normally, the job is routine, because setting up a camp is one of the CLB’s main missions, but this time was different.

“When we got out here, the whole area was flooded,” said Harrington. “There was water flowing through the middle of the camp, so we had the engineers build a berm [a raised barrier] to redirect the water to go around the camp so we could move the supplies and equipment in.”

After establishing the camp, CLB Marines had the chance to interact with Philippine service members.
“They are all really good people,” said Cpl. Joseph D. Behler, an embark chief with CLB 31, 31st MEU.
“There is a lot we have that we can teach them, and they have a lot that they can teach us.”

CLB also conducted training sessions with the Philippine Marines. They taught a bilateral Marine Corps Martial Arts Program class and trained on the capabilities of CLB 31’s Humvees. The bulk fuel specialists of CLB instructed the combined service members how to receive fuel from a CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopter.

The Marines did not just interact with the Philippine military; they also interacted with local civilians during a community relations event at nearby schools. During the events, US Marines intermingled with the children and helped with sports activities.

Harrington said gave the Marines a greater appreciation of the American lifestyle by seeing the conditions many Philippine citizens live in, which is a unique experience.

Throughout the exercise the efforts of the Marines of CLB 31 continued to ensure the BLT had the supplies and equipment needed, and the local community benefitted from the Marine’s presence.

PHIBLEX is an annual opportunity in the Philippines to conduct training which is vital to maintaining the readiness and interoperability of the U.S. and the Republic of the Philippines military forces.

The 31st MEU was operating in support of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade for the exercise and is the only continuously forward-deployed MEU and remains the United States’ force in readiness in the Asia-Pacific region.

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Written by : Cpl. Garry J. Welch

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/sunday-times/front-pages/10262-how-a-us-combat-logistics-unit-served-the-ph-us-marines

US suspends Mindanao development projects

By Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star) Updated December 04, 2009 12:00 AM


MANILA, Philippines - The United States has indefinitely suspended their development projects in Maguindanao while the gruesome murder of 57 civilians and journalists is being investigated.

The US builds classrooms, libraries, and roads in one of the most impoverished areas in the country.

“What we have done is to suspend work for our projects in Maguindanao for a little bit just so we make sure that the security situation is safe. And I think anytime when you have a massacre like that, you don’t know who’s behind it or what happened. I don’t want any of our employees to get hurt,” US Ambassador Kristie Kenney said in an interview during the Christmas lighting event at the US embassy in Manila. She said the security situation in Maguindanao will be evaluated before work on the projects resumes.

“As soon as we evaluate the security situation. You know, on a case by case basis but frankly what’s most important is that they investigate and people be brought to justice,” she said.

The US government strongly condemned the massacre in Maguindanao. Washington has urged the Philippines to conduct a thorough, rapid, and transparent investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines has deployed more soldiers to Maguindanao to heighten security in the region.

Military spokesperson Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said the 33rd Infantry Battalion from Lanao del Sur was detailed to augment the forces already stationed in Shariff Aguak, the provincial capital where the Ampatuan mansion is located.

After the massacre, five infantry battalions and two companies of elite Scout Rangers and Special Forces were deployed to Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato.  

Also sent to Maguindanao were two mechanized battalions equipped with armored vehicles.

“We have deployed more troops to secure the province and prevent other groups from taking advantage of the situation. Their mission is to secure the place and we need more forces just in case,” he said.

There are now at least 3,500 troops securing the three provinces.

Brawner said troops are also protecting the Ampatuans because their safety is being threatened by groups outside the Mangudadatu clan.

The military is also preparing for resistance from the supporters of the Ampatuan clan if they will be served arrest warrants tagging them in the massacre.

AFP National Capital Region Command chief Maj. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu said intelligence units are monitoring developments in the province to determine if there is a possible spillover of atrocities to Metro Manila.
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