News Story: US ‘proudly stands’ with Phl in war vs IS

By Pia Lee-Brago

MANILA, Philippines - The United States “proudly stands” with the Philippines as a longstanding ally and supports the government’s operations against the Islamic State (IS)-aligned Maute militants in Marawi City.

This was the message of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on the celebration of the 119th Philippine Independence Day.

“The United States proudly stands with the Philippines as a longstanding ally, especially as the country confronts challenges associated with terrorism and extremism, including recent attacks in Marawi City and elsewhere,” Tillerson said.

“On behalf of President Trump and the American people, congratulations and best wishes to the people of the Republic of the Philippines as you commemorate your 119th Independence Day on June 12,” he said.

“We admire the resilience and strength of Filipino people in battling adversity and building a more prosperous and secure future,” Tillerson added.

The secretary said the US honors “the enduring US-Philippine alliance, built on our shared democratic values, growing commerce and strong people-to-people ties.”

US Ambassador Sung Kim, meanwhile, said the Philippine government knew of Washington’s military assistance in Marawi City, despite President Duterte’s claim that he was unaware of the arrangement.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Report: This is What May Stop Duterte From Buying Advanced Russian Weaponry

The Philippines has repeatedly said it is considering the purchase of Russian military equipment. Recently, Rodrigo Duterte visited Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and asked for assistance in the country's war on terror.

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Tommy Yang — Restrictions contained in the Philippine constitution may stop President Rodrigo Duterte from purchasing advanced and more expensive weaponry from Russia, experts told Sputnik.

Education vs Military

Following Philippine President Duterte’s official visit to Moscow last week, Russia and the Philippines signed a package of agreements, highlighted by the agreement on military cooperation. Media reports suggested that Russia may be offering the Philippines some form of soft loans in the initial stage of military equipment procurement.

Commenting on possible financial assistance from the Russian side on military hardware purchases, Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano stressed the country’s financial difficulties at a press conference in Moscow.

"The Philippines, being a developing country, may not have the finances to pay for what we need now. That’s another way of saying that grants, soft loans, concessional loans are welcome," Cayetano said.

News Story: U.S., Philippines end exercises as local groups call on Duterte to scrap future drills

MANILA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The 12-day joint military drills between the United States and the Philippines wrapped up on Friday, with officials of allied countries claiming the troops stand more prepared to respond to terror threats and natural disasters in the region.

Only 2,600 American troops and 2,800 Philippine troops, about half of the previous scale, participated in this year's Balikatan or shoulder-to-shoulder exercises that were conducted in multiple locations in the Philippine main Luzon Island and the Visayan region in the central Philippines.

Unlike in the past years, Balikatan 2017 also skipped all combat-related exercises like live-fire drills and amphibious landings at the behest of President Rodrigo Duterte, who has threatened to scrap the exercises and drive away all U.S. troops on Philippine soil.

Duterte has ordered Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to focus on humanitarian and disaster response and drills that would hone the counter-terrorism skills of the participants.

During the period of their joint exercises, some Philippine local groups have called on Duterte to scrap the exercises with the Americans, saying it contradicts Duterte's posture of an independent foreign policy.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Duterte should invite Trump to EAS – US exec

By Pia Lee-Brago

WASHINGTON – President Duterte needs to invite US President Donald Trump to the East Asia Summit (EAS) in November to enable both leaders to reboot the relationship between their countries, according to a senior adviser and deputy director of the American think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

“It’ll be really good if President Trump will come for the EAS,” Murray Hiebert, senior adviser and deputy director for Southeast Asia Program at the CSIS, told Filipino journalists in a briefing on Philippines-US relations.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, he said, should encourage Trump to attend the two big summits – the EAS to be held in the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam.

“President Duterte and President Trump have to meet. I don’t know if it’s possible to meet before November just because the new President has got a lot to do,” he said, noting Trump’s focus is on domestic matters.

Read the full story at The Philippine Star

News Story: Philippines should cease from being America's proxy nation - Philippine academics

MANILA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Philippine academics and analysts lauded on Wednesday the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to pursue an independent foreign policy by standing up and declaring that the Philippines should cease from being America's "proxy nation".

In a forum to assess Duterte's foreign policy, the analysts and scholars stressed the need to review the Mutual Defense Treaty that the U.S. and the Philippines signed in 1951 and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) that Washington and Manila inked in 2014.

Retired Brig. Gen. Victor Corpus, an author, said that EDCA promotes the national interest of the U.S. in the region. Former Senator Francisco Tatad, for his part, said that the Philippines should have re-negotiated the 1951 treaty as the treaty, which was crafted during the Cold War has become irrelevant under the post-Cold War era.

Political analyst and author Adolfo Paglinawan said EDCA is a "forward deployment of the U.S. pivot of its military presence to the Asia-Pacific," making the Philippines a proxy nation.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Lorenzana - Duterte allowed US to build barracks in local camps

By Patricia Lourdes Viray

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has allowed American troops to build barracks in local camps as part of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.

Last week, the president threatened to abrogate the Visiting Forces Agreement after accusing the United States of building arms depot in the country.

The Defense chief, however, had clarified to the president that the US does not have plans of stockpiling weapons in the Philippines.

"Ewan ko kung saan nakuha ni presidente yung information niya but I corrected it. I talked to him sabi ko, 'Mr. President, first there was no construction yet sa mga EDCA camps. Wala pa. It will be constructed some time later this year or next year,'" Lorenzana said in a televised media briefing in Malacañan on Tuesday.

(PacificSentinel: Translation of the above by Google Translate - "I do not know where I got my information she's president but I corrected it. I talked to him I said, 'Mr. President, first there was no construction yet to EDCA camps. Nothing else. It will be constructed some time later this year or next year, "Lorenzana said in a televised media briefing in Malacañang on Tuesday.)

Lorenzana added that building an arms depot in the country is not part of the agreement with the US.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: US to Duterte - No weapons depot in Phl

Iris Gonzales, Alexis Romero

MANILA, Philippines -  The United States is not building any weapons depot in the Philippines.

US Ambassador Sung Kim made the clarification a day after President Duterte accused the US of building permanent arms storage facilities in the country.

“The US is not building any weapons depot anywhere in the Philippines,” Kim said in a forum organized by the Makati Business Club.

Kim said Duterte may have been mis- informed.

“I think some misinformation was given to the President and that’s why he gave that statement expressing concerns about a possible weapons depot,” he said.

Duterte, in yet another tirade against the US, said Washington was bringing weapons into three provinces in the coun- try, risking regional stability.

He said this was a dangerous breach of a defense deal between the US and the Philippines.

“They’re unloading arms in the Phil- ippines now ... I’m serving notice to the armed forces of the United States. Do not do it, I will not allow it,” Duterte said in a televised news conference.

However, Kim stressed that there is nothing planned that “even closely re- sembles a weapons depot.”

Read the full story at Philstar

Related Stories:

• Duterte threatens to scrap VFA over US 'arms depots'
• US envoy: No arms depot anywhere in Philippines
• Despite AFP denial, Palace says Duterte has sources on US arms depot claim

News Report: How Duterte's 'Unpredictability' Keeps US and Chinese Diplomats on Edge

Last week, the Minister of Defense for the Philippines Delfin Lorenzana said that the agreement signed with the US in 2014 (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement) is now in full force. Sputnik China spoke with Anton Tsvetov, expert from the Center for Strategic Research, about the Philippines’ current relations with the US and China.

Recently, the Pentagon gave the green light for the creation of military infrastructure on five Filipino bases with an American military presence that will support rotational deployments. According to Lorenzana, President Duterte intends to abide by all the agreements which were made in 2014.

However, just a few days ago, Duterte made a new statement accusing the United States of creating permanent stockpiles of weapons in the Philippines and hence violating the bilateral agreements.

Anton Tsvetov, expert from the Center for Strategic Research spoke with Sputnik China in an interview about the future relations of the Philippines with the US.

News Story: Duterte tells U.S. not to build military depots in Philippines

President Rodrigo Duterte

MANILA, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has accused the United States of building "depots" in the Philippines to store live ammunition, warning that he would abrogate a bilateral treaty if Washington is indeed building permanent structures on Philippine soil.

"Here is my worry. They (The Americans) are making depots, they are unloading arms in the Philippines now, in Palawan, Cagayan de Oro and Pampanga," he told a news conference in the presidential palace after midnight Sunday.

"I am serving notice to the Armed Forces of the U.S.: Do not do it. I will not allow it," Duterte said, citing a provision in the Visiting Forces Agreement signed by both countries that no permanent facilities should be built on the Philippine territory.

He said "a depot by any other name is a depot ... It is prohibited under the law. It's not allowed by the treaty," he said.

Duterte said building a depot and stoking them with live ammunition is dangerous to the Philippines and its people, describing it as a magnet for attack.

"I won't allow that. You place us all in danger," he said, vowing to stop the construction.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Duterte tells US not to store weapons in Philippine military camps

Hanoi (VNA) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on January 29 asked the US not to store weapons in military camps in the Philippines under the two countries’ Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) signed in 2014.

President Duterte said at a press conference that he would consider abrogating the EDCA which allows US troops temporarily station in certain military camps in the Philippines, if the Americans build weapon depots in those camps.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: U.S. to start building facilities in Philippine military camps this year

MANILA, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Thursday that the U.S. military will start building facilities in Philippine military camps this year.

Lorenzana told reporters that the plan is part of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) that Washington and Manila signed in 2014.

"According to the Pentagon, they will start constructing some facilities in the EDCA chosen camps. I think the first camp where they will develop these facilities is in Basa," Lorenzana said, referring to the Base Air Base in Pampanga province near Subic and Clark, the former U.S. military bases that were converted into economic zones.

Aside from Basa, the U.S. armed forces also plans to build facilities in Antonio Bautista Air Base located in Palawan, the Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija province in the main Luzon island, Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro province in the southern Philippines, and Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu in central Philippines.

The Philippine constitution bars the presence of foreign military bases, troops, or facilitates on Philippine soil. However, Lorenzana said facilities that will be put up in these camps would be used by American troops to store their equipment.

Lorenzana said that President Rodrigo Duterte is aware of and agrees with the proposed projects.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Kerry's Farewell Trip to Vietnam Ends Obama's 'Asia Pivot'

At the end of last week, US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Vietnam. It was not only his last visit to the country as the head of the State Department but the event actually closed the “pivot to Asia,” for the Obama administration.

The visit had an official and a symbolic moment to it where the latter was almost more important.

Sputnik spoke with expert on the central strategic developments Anton Tsvetov.

“While many in Trump’s administration actively criticized Obama for weakness and abstruseness in Asian politics, one cannot ignore the energy with which the Democratic administration took to Asia. The rotation strategy was clearly meant to be comprehensive and should have included the development of both traditional military alliances and all sorts of partnerships, new and old,” Tsvetov told Sputnik.

News Story: Duterte admin urged to file protest against both US-China

Kabayan Representative Harry Roque urged the government to file protests against China and the United States for the recent incident involving “well within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone.”

Roque calls out to President Rodrigo Duterte to “urgently consider the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement in order to protect the territorial integrity of the Philippines.”

“By abandoning those agreements, we can adopt a position of neutrality, following the footsteps of countries such as Switzerland,” he said.

The move followed the recent incident the US underwater drone just 50 nautical miles off Subic Bay was seized by Chinese coast guard.

Read the full story at Tankler

News Story: US troops train in Philippines despite Duterte threat

Filipino and US troops began training exercises this week, the Philippines military said Wednesday, despite President Rodrigo Duterte's threats to end joint war games and kick American soldiers out of his country as he edges closer to Beijing.

Duterte has called for the withdrawal of American troops from his country and has branded US President Barack Obama a "son of a whore" in response to international criticism of his deadly war on drugs.

He also announced an end to joint war games after an amphibious exercise involving several hundred US and Filipino marines finished last month.

But on Wednesday, military spokesmen told AFP about an ongoing month-long joint training exercise involving around 30-40 Filipino solders and an unspecified number of US Special Forces.

"This is a very small bilateral activity," Filipino military spokesman Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla said, referring to the exercise that kicked off on Monday on the island of Palawan in the west of the archipelago.

Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Benjamin Hao earlier told reporters that the exercise was intended "to test the basic war fighting skills of our soldiers (and) to improve the relationship of both armed forces".

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Report: Philippine President Takes on 2014 Defense Pact with US

President Rodrigo Duterte

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said at a news conference November 11 that he is against the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) signed in 2014 between his country and the US.

The statement hints that further deployment of American forces in Philippine is unlikely. Duterte also said the only reason for continuing EDCA activities this year is due to the previous firming up of the agreement by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. 

"By the time I talked to [Lorenzana], the arrangement had already been firmed up. I do not want to embarrass the Philippines and, of course, not so much because I was already vocal against it. But in deference to the secretary of defense, I said go ahead but this should be the last time," Duterte said at the press conference in Davao City. 

Last month, Duterte asserted that the military exercises carried out by the two countries only actually benefit US soldiers. He added that in the next two years he would like to see his country "freed of the presence of foreign military troops." 

"I want them out, and if I have to revise or abrogate agreements, executive agreements, I will," the president stated.

During his October visit to Japan, Duterte said, "Forget it. I do not want to see any military man of any other nation except the Philippine soldier."

When the US suggested it might withdraw aid to the Philippines because of increasing concerns over human rights in the Pacific nation, Duterte retorted, "You can have it. It's all yours. We will survive."

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.

News Story: Philippines' Duterte says he is against 2014 defense pact with U.S.

President Rodrigo Duterte

MANILA, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Friday that he is against the implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) that Manila and Washington signed in 2014, hinting again that he might just scrap the agreement that allows prolonged deployment of American forces in the country as well as build logistics hub in Philippine military bases.

Duterte, who arrived early Friday back in Davao City from an overnight official visit to Malaysia, told a news conference that he does not want to see any foreign troops on Philippine soil.

He added that the joint military activities that will be carried out this year by the Philippine and U.S. troops would probably be the last.

In fact, he said that he only gave the go-ahead for the EDCA activities to push through this year because they were already firmed up by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

"By the time I talked to (Lorenzana) the arrangement has already been firmed up. I do not want to embarrass the Philippines and, of course, not so much because I was already vocal against it. But in deference to the secretary of defense I said go ahead but this should be the last time," Duterte said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Philippines: Military Exercises With US Will Be Scaled Back

Image: Flickr User - Marines

Philippine and U.S. Marines simulate a beach landing from combat rubber raiding crafts onto a small island off the coast of Palawan, Philippines, Oct. 2 during Amphibious Landing Exercise 2015. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Anthony J. Kirby/Released) >>

Philippine defense officials announced Wednesday that joint military exercises with the US have been approved by President Rodrigo Duterte, but the number of drills will be decreasing and will not include mock assaults.

The 2014 defense agreement that allows Washington five temporary installations at Philippine bases will be honored, according to Delfin Lorenzana, Manila’s Defense Secretary. 

Lorenzana told reporters, "It will remain. No, it will not be abrogated. But we will reduce the number of activities." He added, however, that the marine amphibious landing exercise Philbex would be scrapped, along with CARAT, a series of cooperation afloat readiness and training exercises. 

Duterte has been threatening to end cooperative military exercises with US, ever since President Barack Obama criticized the Philippines’ war on drugs. In an early October interview the brash statesman told the American president, "Instead of helping us, the first to criticize is this State Department, so you can go to hell, Mr. Obama, you can go to hell." Duterte later told the European Union, following similar criticism of his violent policies, that they had "Better choose purgatory, hell is filled up."

The Philippines’ president has expressed interest in holding military exercises with Russia and China, particularly in anti-terrorism efforts. Last month he told Hong Kong Television that he had "given enough time for the Americans to play with the Filipino soldiers."

Lorenzana said that he and other defense officers were able to convince Duterte to maintain the exercises by reminding him of the two countries’ past military cooperation. He also noted that the details of the reduced exercises are yet to be discussed with their US counterparts.

"We presented to him the long years of bilateral relationship," he said. "The Armed Forces of the Philippines enumerated the benefits obtained from these exercises.” 

The military issue is also what prompted Duterte to infamously call Obama a "son of a whore," with the US president canceling a scheduled meeting with the Philippines president as a result.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.

News Story: Philippines maintains defence treaty with US

Hanoi (VNA) – The Philippines will maintain its defence treaty and continue joint drills with the United States, despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s threat to end defence cooperation between the two countries. 

The statement was made by the Minister of Defence Delfin Lorenzana on November 7 to the media. 

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Report: Duterte's Words Point to 'Serious Shift' in Foreign Policy Toward Russia, China

Stung by the US State Department’s decision to cancel the sale of 26,000 assault rifles for the Philippine police, the country’s President Rodrigo Duterte called those responsible for the decision “monkeys” and “fools.”

"Look at these monkeys, the 26,000 firearms we wanted to buy, they don't want to sell," Duterte said during a televised speech on Wednesday. 

The Philippine leader never minces words when referring to US politicians. Earlier he called President Barack Obama “a son of a b*tch” and the US ambassador in Manila “an annoying homosexual.”

In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said that despite Duterte’s swipe, the US remained committed to developing a good working relationship with the Philippines and its President.

The question is whether the Philippines and its President are equally committed to having good relations with Washington. 

Think Tank: Duterte - a bull in a China shop

Malcolm Davis

In announcing a separation from the US, the Philippine’s President Duterte recently flagged a closer relationship with China, stating, ‘America has lost…I’ve realigned myself in your [China’s] ideological flow’. Although Duterte subsequently walked back from his position, the perception is emerging that the Philippines under Duterte is at best charting a more independent path, and at worst, decisively aligning with China.

On the South China Sea, Duterte indicated that he’ll put aside the outcome of the Arbitral Tribunal and engage with Beijing bilaterally. In an apparent quid pro quo, Chinese Coast Guard vessels have left the Scarborough Shoal. This implies reward for Manila for aligning itself with Beijing. The risk is other ASEAN states will seek similar benefit, further undermining the already fragile ASEAN unity. Beijing already has enough influence over Laos and Cambodia to make consensus over ASEAN joint communiqués on the South China Sea impossible. Having the Philippines in its pocket would allow Beijing’s to divide and weaken ASEAN, and the Philippines’ leadership of ASEAN in 2017 could further enhance Beijing’s influence.