Gazmin defends US access plan

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines needs to form partnerships with its allies to counter the bullying of China while building up its security capabilities, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said yesterday.

Gazmin said alliances with other countries would enable the Philippines to protect itself against “an oppressive neighbor,” who, he said, is now in the country’s “garage.”

“At this point in time, we can’t stand alone. We need to form alliances. If we don’t do it, bigger forces will bully us and that is happening now,” Gazmin told reporters in Filipino yesterday.

“While we are filing cases (before the international tribunal) and at the same time building up our capability to address our security concerns, it’s important that we collaborate with other countries friendly and sympathetic to us,” he added.

Gazmin noted that China has maintained its presence in Philippine territories despite the arbitration case filed by the government.

“We brought this up before the court but in spite of that, they (Chinese) are still there. They refused to leave. What will we do? Are we going to wait for them to enter our doorstep? They are now in our garage,” the defense chief said.

On Thursday, Gazmin said the country is ready to provide the United States (US) and other strategic allies access to its bases in a move seen as a way to counter China’s aggressive activities in the region.

Gazmin clarified that there is no plan to build new bases since the constitution prohibits it. Militant groups have been criticizing the plan, saying this could violate the country’s sovereignty.

Gazmin said the access agreement was brought up during the Two Plus Two Ministerial Consultations held in Washington last year. The agreement is pursuant to he plan to increase the rotational presence of US troops in the Philippines.

Among the facilities that may be opened to the US forces are the Subic base and the Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro.

Gazmin said their legal team is carefully studying the wording of the access agreement, which would shore up the presence of the US in the region.

The agreement, Gazmin said, would also allow US assets like fighter jets to refuel in the country.

For its part, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said the enhanced US presence would hinder the peaceful resolution of the West Philippine Sea dispute.

"By actively supporting the US military buildup in the Asia-Pacific and allowing it to use the Philippines as a platform for US naval operations in the region, the Aquino government has made the peaceful resolution of the South China Sea disputes more difficult to attain," the group said.

"It is provoking China to be more aggressive in its defense of its territories and push beyond its sea borders," it added.

Last year, the US bared plans to deploy majority of its naval fleet to the Pacific by 2020.

Then US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the US naval assets would be realigned from a roughly 50-50 split between the Pacific and the Atlantic to about 60-40 split between those oceans.

The Philippines is also strengthening its defense ties with Japan, which is also embroiled in a territorial dispute with China.

Japanese defense minister Itsunori Onodera said the two countries would cooperate in terms of defense of remote islands and territorial sea.

China claims almost the entire West Philippine Sea and the East Sea. The area, delineated by a so-called nine-dash line, covers more than 100 islets, atolls and reefs. Its claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei and Vietnam.

Chinese intruders have been occupying Philippine-owned areas in the West Philippine Sea to assert its territorial claims.

China has reportedly imposed an “exclusion zone” in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, effectively barring Filipino fishermen from fishing in the area.

The shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc, is 124 nautical miles from the nearest point in Zambales and is well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

Chinese occupation of the Panatag Shoal began on April 10, 2012, when surveillance vessels from Beijing prevented the Philippine Navy from arresting Chinese fishermen who had poached endangered marine species. The occupation happened a few days before the Two Plus Two consultations between US and Philippine security officials.

China has also built a military garrison in the Mischief Reef or Panganiban Reef, one of the areas being claimed by the Philippines. Mischief Reef, which is about 70 nautical miles from Palawan, has been occupied by China since 1995.

China initially constructed structures on stilts at the reef, supposedly to provide shelter for fishermen but these were later on transformed into a military garrison with powerful radars.

It has also installed a powerful radar station in Subi Reef, an islet 12 nautical miles southwest of Pag-asa Island, which is part of Kalayaan Island. The Chinese began constructing the four-story structure, including a lighthouse about seven years ago.

Chinese ships have also been deployed around the Ayungin Shoal, another Philippine-owned area located 105.77 nautical miles from Palawan.