JUNE 7, 2012 DATE

NR # 2763B
REF. NO.

Bayan Muna solons seek immediate pullout of US military troops

Lawmakers from the Bayan Muna Party-list are calling on the government to order a pullout of the United States military troops in the country for the US-RP Balikatan Exercises to pave the way for an all-out diplomatic solution to the conflict between the Philippines and China over the Scarborough Shoal. In House Resolution 2362, Reps. Neri Colmenares and Teddy Casio said the presence of the US military troops in the country aggravates the tension and hinders the launch of an all-out diplomatic solution to resolve the territorial conflict with China. Colmenares and Casio deplored the conduct of war exercises at the height of the Scarborough tension and what they said was the invitation by the Aquino government for the United States to meddle in the regional dispute. While the Philippines raised diplomatic protests and has announced it would bring the issue to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), President Benigno S. Aquino was also quick to call on the United States to interfere in the regional dispute and come to aid the Philippines against China, citing in the unequal 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, the lawmakers said. The Aquino administration, for calling upon the US intervention and allowing US military presence in the Philippines at the height of the said dispute, undermines the Filipino nations sovereignty and independence and even brings the country to the brink of war, Colmenares and Casio declared. They demanded the expulsion of the US military forces gathered in Palawan with Filipino soldiers for the US-RP Balikatan Exercises saying they are using the Philippines to advance their imperialist interests in Asia and in China. Colmenares and Casio noted that at the height of the tension over the Scarborough dispute, the US-RP Balikatan Exercises started off with almost 7,000 American and Filipino troops gathering in Palawan to conduct war games near the disputed area, contributing to the rising tension between China and the Philippines despite the incredible official denial that it is not related to the Scarborough disputes. In consideration of the rising tension against China, the Philippine government should recall the continuing joint military exercises and order the pull out of US troops in the Philippines. US military presence only aggravates the situation where the Filipino nation is mostly at stake. Their pullout should help ease the tension and can pave the way for a more diplomatic action, Colmenares and Casio said.

JUNE 7, 2012 DATE

NR # 2763B
REF. NO.

Colmenares and Casio said the government should exhaust all diplomatic means possible to assert Philippine sovereignty to end Chinas intrusion in the countrys territory and exclusive economic zones (ECZs). The Philippine should assert its sovereignty over the disputed area as the said area, which is a ring of coral reef is in Philippine territories, not only according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) but because the Philippines exercises full sovereignty and jurisdiction over Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Panakot and Panatag, and sovereign rights over the waters encircling the said area, Colmenares and Casio said. They cited the official statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs on April 20, 2012, which reiterated the countrys territorial rights over the Scarborough Shoal based on other public international law aside from UNCLOS. According to the DFA, the Philippines has been exercising full sovereignty and jurisdiction since the 16th century and has records to prove that the Bajo de Masinloc is a Philippine territory, the lawmakers said. Colmenares and Casio were hopeful that China and the Philippines would be able to resolve the conflict through peaceful means. China and the Philippines have been in a longstanding bilateral relationship and can therefore enter into bilateral and even multilateral negotiations with other countries involved in the dispute to come up with more diplomatic means to resolve the conflict. (30) mrs