UY, Kyle William T.

4IT-A

Position Paper: VFA Termination

The Visiting Forces Agreement or VFA is when a country allows a foreign nation to
have their military forces visiting in that country. It is a legal basis for foreign military troops
such as the U.S. troops to be present for bilateral exercises in the country. This is more
commonly known as the joint military exercises. This agreement intends to clarify the terms
where a foreign military is allowed to operate inside a country. It is mainly concerned with the
legal issues associated with military individuals and property. VFAs specifies for how civil
damages caused by the foreign forces will be determined and paid. Rules are outlined for foreign
troops arriving in and leaving our country such as the movement of military vessels and aircraft,
and the import and export of equipment and supplies used in joint activities. The VFA also
allows two countries to establish a stronger relationship between their military troops.

An example of joint military exercises that exists in our country is the yearly Balikatan or
Sholder-to-Shoulder Exercises in Zambales between our military troops and the military troops
of the U.S. forces. Exercises such as the Balikatan are simulated missions which will test the
skills of the two military forces and also their teamwork which will improve their relationship.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines conducts around 300 joint activities with the U.S. military
every year, trainings in all modes of military capability such as external
defense, counterterrorism, humanitarian aid and disaster response, for the Army, Navy, and Air
Force.

Besides the Balikatan exercises, the two military forces conduct many other joint
activities throughout every year, such as the Kamandag exercises between their marine corps,
the Maritime Training Activity Sama-Sama between their navies, and the Bilateral Air
Contingent Exchange between their air forces. Aside from these joint activities, the U.S. forces
have also been sharing in intelligence and surveillance especially in counterterrorism. The U.S.
forces also provided assistance on the ground in the Visayas in the aftermath of Supertyphoon
Yolanda in 2013. These visits are seen as an aid against the Philippines’ main external threat
which is China and its interest in claiming the West Philippine Sea.
 However, the recent news is the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to end or
terminate the 21 year-old VFA between our country and the U.S.. Our President decided this act
because of the U.S. visa cancellation of former Police Chief and current senator Ronald dela
Rosa. The president was furious about senator dela Rosa’s visa cancellation. He also reiterated
that he was serious about his decision to end the VFA of the two countries. Many individuals in
the politics and in the media told their opinion that this decision by our president is
disadvantageous. It was a speech without consultation with his defence and foreign secretaries. A
Tokyo International University professor named Ordaniel told “It was likely an outburst brought
about by his deep-seated unfavorable opinion (of the United States)”.

My position on this matter is that I am against the decision of our President. I think that
ending the agreement would point our country in the wrong direction which is away from the
goal of the U.S. to contain or prevent expansion of China, specifically in the Philippine territory.
The termination would surely motivate China’s aggressive desire to assert sovereignty over areas
claimed by other countries such the Philippines. I know that the termination will affect the
counterterrorism cooperation between the U.S. and our country, especially in areas of Mindanao
and the Sulu Sea where the AFP might lose important information in operations targeting
extremists. This matter does not only include security, but will also negatively affect many other
aspects of our relationship with the U.S. such as economic and people-to-people relationship.

I hope that there is still a chance that the decision of our president will be reverted. The
president must be given the sense or be reminded the significance of the U.S. forces being
present here in our country. I honestly think that he made his decisions with his emotions just
because he is personally close to senator dela Rosa. He must be reminded that his actions should
be thought-of and consulted carefully because the whole nation is always affected with every
decision he makes towards our relationship with other nations. There is still time to take back the
decision and it is his responsibility to do what is best for our country.