Anti-US group offers alternatives to defense agreements

Does the new defense deal make the country stronger or weaker?

To the most persistent critics of the US in the Philippines, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) is another sign that Manila is a puppet regime and a pawn in a chess game between world powers.

But ironically, the hand-me-downs from the US that activists with militant umbrella organization Bagong Alyansang Makabayan have dismissed as junk have been helping patrol disputed territory in the West Philippine Sea once guarded by the country's lone frigate, the 71-year-old BRP Rajah Humabon.

In November 2013, the BRP Ramon Alcaraz, a refurbished US Coast Guard cutter built in 1968 and bought through the US excess defense articles program, was commissioned into the Philippine Navy. The ship joined another former USCG cutter that was commissioned into the navy in 2011 as BRP Gregorio del Pilar.

The Del Pilar was on patrol in Panatag Shoal, an area claimed by the Philippines and China, in April 2012 when it stopped and boarded Chinese ships filled with giant clams and sharks meant for restaurants in China. This led to a standoff with China over the shoal.

The Del Pilar was also among the ships that the navy sent out to help search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which went missing in May.

The Alcaraz, meanwhile, was sent to the Eastern Visayas shortly after commissioning to help with relief operations in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda last November.

But Bayan Secretary-General Renato Reyes Jr. told GMA News Online in an e-mail that "the Hamilton-class cutters BRP Del Pilar and the other similar ship are hand-me-downs from the Vietnam War era. The cost of maintaining these ships is greater than the acquisition cost, according to a congressional presentation."

The ships, he said, represent a dependence on the US that has "relegated (the Philippines) to being a recipient of second-hand US equipment" based on a false assumption that the country can protect its sovereignty through American military assistance.

At a joint press conference with President Benigno Aquino III in Manila on Monday, US President Barack Obama, in the country for a two-day state visit, said the EDCA will mean more opportunities for Filipino and American troops to train together for defense and disaster response.

"We’ll work together to build the Philippines’ defense capabilities and to work with other nations to promote regional stability, such as in the South China Sea," he said.

Reyes said, however, that the US prefers to keep the Philippines "backward and dependent" for leverage. "The US has no real intention of modernizing our AFP to the point that we can effectively defend our waters and islands," he said.

Proof of that, according to Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, is in how the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement have failed to upgrade the AFP's capabilities.

"[T]his objective of military assistance was never reached as the AFP remains unmodernized [sic]," he said in a text message to GMA News Online.

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares warned Monday that allowing more US troops into the country and giving them access to some military facilities will only create "magnets for attack from the many enemies of the United States."

"The more we depend on US assistance, the weaker we become," Reyes stressed.

Alternatives to America

But what is the alternative to forging more military agreements with the country's oldest ally?

Reyes said the Philippines can use diplomacy and international instruments like the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS to gather support from the rest of the world.

"This is one peaceful way of defending our sovereignty, as we lay down the legal basis for our claims and secure the recognition of the international community. Should
we win the case, international pressure can be brought against China to stop its incursions," he said.

China has already said it will not participate in international arbitration on the Philippine claim over parts of the South China Sea that are within the country's exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.

In the long term, Reyes said, the Philippines has to develop the capacity to defend its territory on its own.

"This means having to industrialize and develop the capacity to build ships and other equipment necessary in defending an archipelagic country. This industrialization
can only happen if we are truly free from any foreign dictates," he told GMA News Online.

When that is done, he said, "We also can avail of diplomacy and support from other countries seeking to defend their own sovereignty."

In the meantime, Ridon said, the Philippines can buy military equipment on its own, something that the government is already doing.

In March, the government signed contracts to buy aircraft from South Korea and from Canada. The contracts cover the purchase of 12 FA-50 jets worth P18.9 billion from Korea Aerospace Industries and eight helicopters worth P4.8 billion from Canadian Commercial Corp. and Canada's Bell Helicopters.

In January, the Defense Department awarded a P882-million contract for four infantry-fighting M113 Armored Personnel Carriers, four armored-recovery M113s, six armored personnel carrier M113s, and 14 fire-support M113s.

"The alternative to US military 'assistance' is sovereignty. And through sovereignty, we can embark on genuine development and capacity building that would place our national interests above any foreign interest," Reyes said. — Jonathan de Santos with reports by Rouchelle R. Dinglasan