Philippines-United States ties: 2019 developments

The Philippine National Police-Maritime Group and representatives from the U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force, or JIATF West, launch a patrol boat facility today in Lantawan, Basilan.

The nearly $2-million (P100 million) facility includes a boat ramp, pier, armory, offices, barracks and a laboratory.  In recent years, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command's counternarcotics task force in the Indo-Pacific region has partnered with the Philippines' police maritime group to open several such facilities throughout the southern Philippines.

Earl Hampton, deputy director of JIATF West, said the facility will improve the PNP-MG’s ability to conduct counternarcotics patrols and thwart the activity of transnational criminal organizations in the southwest Mindanao archipelago and Sulu Sea.

The navies of the Philippines, the United States, and Japan are holding Maritime Training Activity Sama Sama for the third time, the US Embassy announces.

Sama Sama is "a maritime exercise designed to promote regional security cooperation, maintain and strengthen maritime partnerships, and enhance interoperability," the embassy says, adding it is the first time for the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force to participate.

Philippine and US troops are preparing for joint exercises in Luzon and Palawan from October 9 to 18, the US Embassy says in a release.

"During KAMANDAG 3, US and Philippine forces will conduct amphibious operations, live-fire training, urban operations, aviation operations, counterterrorism response operations, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions," it also says.

The third KAMANDAG (Kaagapay Ng Mga Mandirigma Ng Dagat) will feature Filipino and US troops conducting assault amphibious training together.

"It will also be the first to include US and Philippine low-altitude air defense training and threat reaction training. Together, these activities represent an increase in military capability and a commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and demonstrate the ability to forward deploy forces in the event of a crisis or natural disaster," the embassy also says.

The Philippines and the US have plan to hold more than 300 security cooperation activities in 2020, up slightly from the 281 this year, according to a release by the US Embassy.

The planned activities are part of the agenda of the meeting of the 2019 Mutual Defense Board and Security Engagement Board in Quezon City on Friday.

Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr., Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and US Navy Adm. Philip Davidson, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, led the meeting of the Mutual Defense Board and Security Engagement Board, which "act as the central forum for the U.S. and Philippine armed forces to coordinate and plan military activities for the year ahead."

Davidson is quoted in the release as saying the Philippines and the US"will continue to stand together on the foundation of common interests and values." 

"Our national security, including economic security, is reliant on a free and open Indo-Pacific and a rules-based international order," he also says.

On the anniversary of the accession of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, the foundation peace treaty of the ASEAN, Washington reaffirms its mutual commitment to "promoting peace, amity and cooperation throughout the Indo-Pacific."

Morgan Ortagus, spokesperson the Department of State, says the United States has a flourishing strategic partnership with ASEAN, a bloc of 10 countries in the region which includes the Philippines.

"As ASEAN continues to play a central role in the region, we look forward to deepening our strategic partnership, which has benefited the people of Southeast Asia and the United States, and brought us closer together."

The United States has delivered a series of equipment purchases to the Armed Forces of the Philippines on July 17, the US Embassy in Manila announces.

The latest delivery was 10 units of M-107 .50 caliber sniper rifles received at military headquarters Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

"Previous equipment transfers have included radios, battle management systems, Unmanned Ariel Systems, night vision devices, and other items.  The United States will also train the AFP to operate, maintain and employ the equipment," the embassy reports in its news release today.

The embassy also announces that Washington is providing Manila an additional P234 million ($4.5 million) in humanitarian assistance "to bolster relief and recovery efforts for individuals affected by the Marawi conflict."

In a press statement following the US-Philippines strategic dialogue in Manila, US Assistant Secretary David Stilwell reaffirms partnership to counter violent extremism and fight remnants of terror group ISIS.

Stilwell also recognizes the Philippines' role in the South China Sea dispute, noting that the country is "well-positioned to ensure that the ASEAN code of conduct text is fully consistent with international law."

In a veiled criticism of the bloody drug war in the Philippines, Stilwell says the US is willing to work with its ally in the area of drug policy toward "evidence-based approaches to reducing drug demand by improving prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation services."

The Philippines and the United States just concluded their 8th Bilateral Strategic Dialogue. Ambassador to the US Babe Romualdez and US Ambassador Sung Kim will hold a press conference in a while, reports Philstar.com's Patricia Lourdes Viray.

Kim says on Twitter that discussions at the plenary sessions aim to "further strengthen the friendship, partnership and alliance" between the two countries.

The US Embassy yesterday welcomed Assistant Secretary David Stilwell, the top diplomat for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Randall Schriver, who is assistant secretary of defense in the region. (Photo by Philstar.com/Patricia Viray)

The docking of the USS Montgomery in Davao City for a port visit shows the Duterte administration's "utter subservience to the US imperialists," the Communist Party of the Philippines says, adding this is happening "even as Duterte displays outright slavishness to China over the Recto Bank incident."

Under the Duterte administration's "independent foreign policy", the Philippines has sought better relations with China and Russia while, at least outwardly, cooling ties with the US and the European Union, whom the government has accused of trying to meddle in domestic issues.

But the CPP claims the "docking of the USS Montgomery dwarfs China's trawl ships in the South China Sea, literally and politically."

It claims that "US warships carrying guns, missiles, fighter jets, hundreds of soldiers and nuclear arms, dock directly on Philippine civilian ports and airports, unload and store war materiél on US-controlled facilities, and offloads foreign troops who enjoy protection under the US-RP Visiting Forces Agreement."

The 1987 Constitution forbids the presence of nuclear weapons in Philippine territory. The US has a policy of neither confirming nor denying the presence or locations of its nuclear weapons.

Deputy Chief of Mission John Law of the United States Embassy says he had a "wonderful visit" to Paredes Air Station in Ilocos Norte to meet with officers of the Philippine Air Force.

"Looking forward to continuing the United States’ long standing partnership with the PAF as they look to expand their air control and warning capabilities," Law tweets.

"There is no request from either side to renegotiate the (Mutual Defense) treaty," says W. Patrick Murphy, the top American diplomat for East Asia and the Pacific.

In a transcript of a teleconference call, Murphy says that while "there are many voices in the Philippines these days who are making observations about the treaty," renegotiation of the longstanding Philippines-US alliance is not on the table.

"I share with you the official view that there's no request to renegotiate, and there's appreciation for the clarifications that have been shared," Murphy says.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana releases another statement on the Mutual Defense Treaty as he pushes for a review.

"The MDT should have been reviewed when the US bases were terminated in 1992 and we lost our security umbrella," he says.

He insists that the US is more likely to be in conflict with another nation than the Philippines, citing "increased and frequent passage" of US naval vessels, purportedly in the South China Sea. "In such a case and on the basis of the MDT, the Philippines will be automatically involved."

His position contradicts that of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., who is against a renegotiation of the alliance.

Lt. Gen. Lewis Craparotta, commander of US Marine Forces Pacific's, conducts a three-day visit from February 16-18 to discuss the US Marine Corps' partnership with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Craparotta met with Philippines military chief Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr. and Gen. Alvin Parreño, Marine Corps commandant, according to a US Embassy news release.

"As the warriors from the sea and the crisis response force, we the Marines have always been ready and responsive to address the defense and security challenges of the Pacific region," Parreño said in his opening remarks during the bilateral meeting over the weekend.

Craparotta, meanwhile, discussed efforts to frame the US and Philippines' Marine Corps' future activities.

"This week we are here to focus on training, readiness, [and] interoperability, not just for today and 2020, but really for the future," Craparotta said. "This is a long and lasting critical partnership for the region."

The US Embassy in the Philippines awards P23.8-million grant to the Department of Information and Communication, or DICT, to support the National Broadband Network Project.

The National Broadband Plan aims to accelerate the deployment of fiber optic cables and wireless technologies all over the country, particularly in far-flung or remote areas and to improve the overall internet speed of the country.

The grant, issued through the US Trade and Development Agency and signed on February 7, will fund technical assistance to help DICT advance its plans to provide broadband access to underserved markets.