MARCH 21, 2012 DATE

NR # 2685
REF. NO.

Lawmakers oppose the Strategic Defense Dialogue with the United States
Lawmakers have opposed the high-level meeting between the delegates of the Philippine government and the United States scheduled this month under the so-called Strategic Defense Dialogue (SDD). In House Resolution 2200, Reps. Luzviminda Ilagan and Emmi de Jesus (Party-list, Gabriela) urged the government contingent headed by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario to disengage from the talks and instead uphold the national sovereignty of the country in accordance with the 1987 Philippine constitution. The SDD is actually in pursuance of the shift of US priorities for 21st century defense which calls for a rebalancing of its economic interests and military projection toward the Asia-Pacific region, Ilagan said. Ilagan said the US rebalancing act is geared toward increasing military presence, especially in the Philippines, to confront the Chinese challenge in the region and the nuclear threat from North Korea. Ilagan said the US is exploiting the territorial dispute in the South China Sea involving Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines in order to lure these countries into forging enhanced military alliances and bilateral security partnerships with the US geared toward confronting China. The US, using the Spratly issue as pretext, lured the Aquino government to take its bait, and the latter is now practically begging for the possible concession of increased frequency of joint US-RP military exercises and expanded rotational facilities for American troops in the country, Ilagan said. In contrast, Ilagan said China has articulated that it is willing to resolve its territorial claims in the South China Sea through diplomacy and a rules-based mode of international settlement and that it stands for peace and stability in the region. De Jesus said the Spratly issue and other disputed territories in the South China Sea should be resolved through peaceful and diplomatic means by the claimant countries. The SDD will pave the way for augmenting US military presence in the country beyond the terms of reference of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that will further diminish the national sovereignty of the country, De Jesus said. (30) jsc