“Nakikita natin ngayon pa lang na tumitindi na ang trade war sa pagitan ng US at China dahil bumabagal na ang ekonomiya nila. Pag umabot ito sa digmaan, damay tayo dahil sa presence ng US military sa bansa… Kaibigan sila ni Marcos Jr. pero kaaway sila ng mga Pilipino.”
League of Filipino Students, on the visit of US VP Kamala Harris to the Philippines
Anti-imperialist youth group League of Filipino Students (LFS) condemned the visit of US Vice President Kamala Harris to the Philippines today, November 21, by protesting with other progressive groups in Manila streets the intentions behind Harris’s visit which they say is to send a warmongering message with its rival China.
While the US delegation underscores US-Philippine diplomatic relations, LFS says that Harris’s visit is aimed at designating five more military bases accessible to American troops and war materiel, as per the Aquino III-era Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
Entangled within the US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty framework, the closure of US military bases in Philippine soil did not stop the two governments to craft treaties like the Visiting Forces Agreement, Mutual Logistics Support Agreement, and EDCA to facilitate the continued US military presence in the country as the foreign superpower secures more its Indo-Pacific grip.
LFS national chairperson Ivan Sucgang said that trade wars between US and China may lead to military wars which would certainly involve the Philippines and added that Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is an ally to both the US and China but an enemy of the Filipino people as he remains silent and cooperative of disputes and schemes caused by Beijing and Washington.
Harris’s visit and its military-related objectives put added burden on the Filipino youth as Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte are keen on implementing a mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program supposedly to promote nationalism while the Armed Forces of the Philippines remain subservient to US decisions, military framework, and aid, added Sucgang.
In a press interview, Harris exclaimed that “I do not see a future for the Philippines that does not include the United States, and that has come from the very long relationship with the US.” Reports say that Harris and Marcos Jr. aims to close 21 new partnership agreements, including those in clean energy, military, communications and cybersecurity.
Within the year, Harris also visited other Southeast Asian states like Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand. Despite increasing geopolitical tensions, she also went to Taiwan last January, also a territory claimed by China, while describing China’s foreign relation measures as “disturbing”.
Harris is set to fly to Palawan tomorrow Tuesday to meet with Coast Guard officers and local communities. Palawan is home to Antonio Bautista Air Base, a designated EDCA military site and the closest Philippine military base to the Spratly Islands where the Chinese military have illegally occupied disputed islands and islands recognized to be part of Philippine territory.
The US has already approved its plans to spend P4-billion in the next two years to hasten the construction of infrastructure to further implement the EDCA which gives US troops access to designated Philippine military facilities, the right to build facilities, and pre-position equipment, aircraft, and vessels. Moreover, AFP chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro already confirmed that the US declared its interest in adding five more additional bases covered by the EDCA.
Upon Marcos Jr.’s electoral victory, US President Joe Biden affirmed his commitment to support him and expected that the US-Philippine strategic alliance remains strong. Marcos responded that the Philippines and US are allies and partners. Further, the Martial Law and the dictatorship of his father, Marcos Sr., was supported by the US government until he was ousted in 1986.
Featured image courtesy of League of Filipino Students (LFS)
