Bush visit to boost RP’s image as ‘trusted’ US ally in war vs terror

US President George W. Bush’s visit to Manila this week is expected to buttress the Philippines’ new-found status as a trusted military and economic ally instrumental in Washington’s global war on terror, officials say.

At least 10,000 Filipino police have been mobilized to secure Manila for Bush’s eight-hour state visit Saturday. The highlights would be talks with President Arroyo as well as a historic address to a special joint session of the Filipino legislature.

Filipino officials said fresh US aid to follow could run to the hundreds of millions of dollars and easier access for certain Filipino exports to the world’s largest market.

Mrs. Arroyo has been the most vocal Asian leader backing Bush’s campaign against terrorism, and her efforts have been rewarded with Manila being named "a major US non-NATO ally" — giving the country priority access to American defense articles.

The designation puts the Philippines on equal footing with Australia, Japan, Israel, Egypt, South Korea and Argentina who all share privileged security ties with the world’s remaining superpower.

US ambassador to Manila Francis Ricciardone said Bush’s flying visit to this former American colony, his first stop on a six-nation Asian tour, would underscore the "partnership and maturity of the relationship between equals."

"Amid the world crises (such as) in Iraq, challenges and opportunities of globalized economies and SARS, the Philippines and the United States have accomplished a lot for our mutual benefit," Ricciardone told foreign correspondents.

"There is no better testimony for progress in that relationship, in what our two presidents have called maturation of our relationship in the fact that soon, the two presidents will have met twice in full-scale formal state visits."

Mrs. Arroyo was given a rare red-carpet treatment when she visited the White House in May, and Bush’s visit is seen as a reciprocal move to thank a staunch ally on the Southeast Asian flank of the global war against terror.

A small number of US special forces troops are training and equipping Filipino troops in the southern Philippines against the Abu Sayyaf, a small band of Islamic militants wanted by the US government for murdering two American hostages.

Official talking points of the visit have not been released, but Mrs. Arroyo’s spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the leaders would "reaffirm commitments of both countries to our economic, trade and socio-economic ties."

"We’re looking at this visit as a plus point as far as strategic relations are concerned. We believe the visit will cement our long-standing partnership," Bunye said.

Bound by a 1951-mutual defense treaty and an agreement allowing the conduct of joint large-scale military exercises in Philippine territory, Bunye said the bilateral ties are "no longer that between colonizer and colonized."

"We are at a new level of partnership where we are allies in the world," Bunye said.

Officials earlier said that the US government has pledged a minimum of 356 million dollars in security assistance to the Philippines, including funds earmarked for further joint military training exercises this year.

This is on top of 30 advanced US combat helicopters and 30,000 M-16 rifles to beef up the Filipino army’s arsenal, considered one of the poorest in the region.

Millions in development aid have also been earmarked for the strife-torn southern Mindanao region to alleviate poverty and help convince Muslim separatist rebels to sign a peace pact with Manila.

"There will be substantive talks on the defense needs of the Philippines and how the United States can help to meet them," Foreign Secretary Blas Ople said.

"We are pressing the Americans to deliver on their promise."

Apart from military aid, Manila would also seek greater access for its goods to the US market under a so-called "trade and investment facilitation agreement" as well as study the possibility of striking a bilateral free-trade pact with Washington, trade officials say.

Thousands of police and other security forces are to deploy around Manila to guard against potential threats to Bush, from communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels to groups linked to the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist network blamed for the Bali bombings last year. – AFP