Abella on Balikatan: Philippines should not be a pawn in a proxy war

Presidential candidate and former Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ernesto Abella on Saturday said the Philippines should be cautious and not get involved in the disputes of other countries, emphasizing that the country should “not become a pawn in a proxy war.”

In the Pandesal Forum, Abella was asked for his reaction to holding this year’s Balikatan exercises amid the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

“Ang isa sa mga dapat antabayanan natin yung hindi tayo madawit (One of the things we should be careful about is not to get involved) in a proxy war. Na we don't become a pawn in a proxy war,” he said.

He also noted that the country should not become a “peer” in the tensions between other countries.

“Tandaan natin na ganun ang nangyari kadalasan so antabayanan natin hindi tayo maging isang peer lang sa isang giyera between two forces. Yun po ang mahalaga sa akin,” he added.

(Let us remember that this is often the case so let us look forward to not being just a peer in a war between two forces. That is what is important to me.)

On Monday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United States (US) military kicked off its largest-ever joint military exercise

A total of 3,800 AFP members and 5,100 US military personnel will take part in the joint military exercise slated for March 28 to April 8 — the largest iteration of the annual event since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

AFP chief General Andres Centino said the exercise would strengthen the “interoperability” of the two countries' armed forces and would “decisively” contribute to the peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Earlier, Abella agreed with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana's view that the Philippines needed to remain “neutral” on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Malaking bagay ang sinabi ni Secretary Lorenzana, maselan na bagay kasi ito it can go each way and pwedeng apektado ang mga Pilipino natin,” he said.

(Secretary Lorenzana's perspective is very important, it is a sensitive issue because it can go each way and our Filipinos can be affected.)

He said the country must be diplomatic and evacuate affected Filipinos away from the conflict areas. — DVM, GMA News