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| South China Sea (Wikipedia) |
MANILA - Doubts are swirling in the Philippines over whether the United States will live up to its promise to provide its military with the weaponry and equipment needed to stand up to China's aggressions in the South China Sea. The concerns arise as the two sides launch their annual joint naval exercises, held this year near the contested Spratly Islands.
The 11-day exercises, known as Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT), commenced earlier this week and trainings will cover maritime interdiction, patrol operations and gunnery exercises. Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters that the US also vowed to extend intelligence assistance to the Philippine navy for areas in the South China Sea.
Behind this cooperation, however, are Philippine concerns the US has not lived up to its end of their strategic bargain, including delays in promised arms transfers. The US has a history of broken military equipment promises to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), which have become glaringly apparent as China flexes its naval muscle in the South China Sea.
Those upgrades were supposed to come in exchange for Manila agreeing to bilateral defense accords with the United States, including enhanced cooperation in the fight against global terrorism. Beyond the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), the Philippines agreed to the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the US in 1999.
That deal has opened the way for joint initiatives aimed at regional terror groups and the use of Philippine territory for so-called "revolving" bases, where US personnel frequently move in and out of the country. The two sides have together neutralized the Abu Sayyaf terror organization, which has been linked in the past with al-Qadea.
Under both the MDT and VFA, the US committed to upgrade the Philippine military with modern armaments. However, the Philippines armed forces has fallen behind the strategic times as the least equipped among the six claimant nations to the South China Sea.
Except for Brunei, all claimants - including Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and China - have established military garrisons on outcrop of isles and islets they claim. Although the US allocates hardware to the Philippines military annually , the bulk of the weapons is delivered second-hand after being used extensively in Thailand and South Korea under the US foreign military sales program.
In 2003, Thailand turned over eight US-supplied F-5 fighter jets, two from its air force arsenal, to the Philippines and South Korea to help Manila in its US-backed fight against Muslim and communist insurgents. The aircraft have since been retired by Manila for lack of spare parts.
The Rajah Humabon, a warship which was junked by the US navy after World War II ended, is still in use by the Philippines. Security analysts estimate just one Chinese torpedo would sink it.
United States President Barack Obama has reiterated Washington's pledge, as allowed under the defense treaty and Visiting Forces Agreement, to provide the weapons Manila needs to modernize and protect national interests.
While Manila has already submitted its "wish list," including the urgent need for naval frigates, long-range fighter aircraft and a couple of submarines, it's still unclear whether the US will grant any of them.
In the face of that uncertainty, Manila has even mulled the idea of paying the US to lease patrol boats in a bid to expedite Washington's bureaucracy. However, US Navy Task Force commander Rear Admiral Tom Carney has said that the US is not in the business of leasing its patrol boats.
That deal has opened the way for joint initiatives aimed at regional terror groups and the use of Philippine territory for so-called "revolving" bases, where US personnel frequently move in and out of the country. The two sides have together neutralized the Abu Sayyaf terror organization, which has been linked in the past with al-Qadea.
Under both the MDT and VFA, the US committed to upgrade the Philippine military with modern armaments. However, the Philippines armed forces has fallen behind the strategic times as the least equipped among the six claimant nations to the South China Sea.
Except for Brunei, all claimants - including Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and China - have established military garrisons on outcrop of isles and islets they claim. Although the US allocates hardware to the Philippines military annually , the bulk of the weapons is delivered second-hand after being used extensively in Thailand and South Korea under the US foreign military sales program.
In 2003, Thailand turned over eight US-supplied F-5 fighter jets, two from its air force arsenal, to the Philippines and South Korea to help Manila in its US-backed fight against Muslim and communist insurgents. The aircraft have since been retired by Manila for lack of spare parts.
The Rajah Humabon, a warship which was junked by the US navy after World War II ended, is still in use by the Philippines. Security analysts estimate just one Chinese torpedo would sink it.
United States President Barack Obama has reiterated Washington's pledge, as allowed under the defense treaty and Visiting Forces Agreement, to provide the weapons Manila needs to modernize and protect national interests.
While Manila has already submitted its "wish list," including the urgent need for naval frigates, long-range fighter aircraft and a couple of submarines, it's still unclear whether the US will grant any of them.
In the face of that uncertainty, Manila has even mulled the idea of paying the US to lease patrol boats in a bid to expedite Washington's bureaucracy. However, US Navy Task Force commander Rear Admiral Tom Carney has said that the US is not in the business of leasing its patrol boats.
Rising assertiveness
Manila is wary that Beijing is poised to assert more forcefully its claims in what Philippine officials refer to as the West Philippine Sea, part of the vast body of water more commonly known as the South China Sea. In March, a Philippine Department of Energy seismic vessel was harassed by a Chinese navy vessel in a contested maritime area.
Another nagging concern for Manila about future US commitment surrounds the MDT's provision for mutual defense and whether it would apply in the case of Chinese aggression in the disputed waters.
While the treaty stipulates that both the US and Philippines will aid each other in repelling external aggression, Manila is concerned by a provision that any US response must be subject to US "constitutional" processes, including the potential for lengthy debate in the US congress at a time of national crisis.
Filipino defense and military officials say they will press for "a flexible and timely" response from the US in the event a shooting war breaks out with China. Proposed changes to the MDT's "constitutional" provision will be high on Manila's agenda at the next meeting of the MDT board in August in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Lawmakers like Tony Alvarez, representative for the island of Palawan, believe that the joint US-Philippine naval exercises, which will include two US guided missile destroyers, will send a strong message to China. However, aides to President Benigno Aquino have urged him against "over reliance" on the US to meet Manila's fast rising defense requirements and to look for a more diplomatic solution to the confrontation.
Voices on the political Left, meanwhile, fear any US aid may entrap the Philippines into fighting a "proxy war" between the two superpowers with the Philippine sea as their battleground. On his own, Aquino has already released an initial 14 billion pesos (US$318 million) from the national budget to kick start the Armed Forces of the Philippine's long-overdue modernization program.
History shows that seeking American aid, whether political or economic, seldom comes cheap and without substantial strings attached. Some analysts suggest that the US has been slow to supply arms because it still harbors ill-will towards the Philippines for booting US troops from the Subic and Clark military bases in 1991.
The strategic relationship came under more recent strain when the Philippines hastily pulled out its army contingent from the US-led "coalition of the willing: in the early stages of the Iraq war in 2003. The then president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took the bold decision in response to public opinion after Iraqi insurgents kidnapped two Filipino contract workers and demanded the withdrawal of Filipino troops from Iraq.
Some believe that war-time turn of events, which drew a flurry of criticism from policy makers in Washington that the Philippines was an "unreliable" ally, represented a turning point in strategic ties for the two allies. Washington later tightened the screws on its annual military aid, reallocating funds to other regional allies including Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Amid strained strategic ties with the US, Arroyo turned to long-time suitor China for assistance, and got it - including enhanced joint training exercises.
Like a pendulum, under Aquino Manila's foreign policy has now swung back to its previous pro-US and anti-China position.
Chinese President Hu Jintao has invited Aquino for talks in Beijing to ease tensions raised by recent events in the South China Sea. Part of Aquino's proposed itinerary would have included a sentimental whirlwind tour of Fujian province, formerly called Amoy, hometown of his great, great grandparents on his maternal side, the late president Corazon Cojuangco Aquino.
But so far Aquino has shrugged off Hu's invitation, while waiting for the US to make good on its promise to deliver modern arms to point in Beijing's direction.
Another nagging concern for Manila about future US commitment surrounds the MDT's provision for mutual defense and whether it would apply in the case of Chinese aggression in the disputed waters.
While the treaty stipulates that both the US and Philippines will aid each other in repelling external aggression, Manila is concerned by a provision that any US response must be subject to US "constitutional" processes, including the potential for lengthy debate in the US congress at a time of national crisis.
Filipino defense and military officials say they will press for "a flexible and timely" response from the US in the event a shooting war breaks out with China. Proposed changes to the MDT's "constitutional" provision will be high on Manila's agenda at the next meeting of the MDT board in August in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Lawmakers like Tony Alvarez, representative for the island of Palawan, believe that the joint US-Philippine naval exercises, which will include two US guided missile destroyers, will send a strong message to China. However, aides to President Benigno Aquino have urged him against "over reliance" on the US to meet Manila's fast rising defense requirements and to look for a more diplomatic solution to the confrontation.
Voices on the political Left, meanwhile, fear any US aid may entrap the Philippines into fighting a "proxy war" between the two superpowers with the Philippine sea as their battleground. On his own, Aquino has already released an initial 14 billion pesos (US$318 million) from the national budget to kick start the Armed Forces of the Philippine's long-overdue modernization program.
History shows that seeking American aid, whether political or economic, seldom comes cheap and without substantial strings attached. Some analysts suggest that the US has been slow to supply arms because it still harbors ill-will towards the Philippines for booting US troops from the Subic and Clark military bases in 1991.
The strategic relationship came under more recent strain when the Philippines hastily pulled out its army contingent from the US-led "coalition of the willing: in the early stages of the Iraq war in 2003. The then president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took the bold decision in response to public opinion after Iraqi insurgents kidnapped two Filipino contract workers and demanded the withdrawal of Filipino troops from Iraq.
Some believe that war-time turn of events, which drew a flurry of criticism from policy makers in Washington that the Philippines was an "unreliable" ally, represented a turning point in strategic ties for the two allies. Washington later tightened the screws on its annual military aid, reallocating funds to other regional allies including Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Amid strained strategic ties with the US, Arroyo turned to long-time suitor China for assistance, and got it - including enhanced joint training exercises.
Like a pendulum, under Aquino Manila's foreign policy has now swung back to its previous pro-US and anti-China position.
Chinese President Hu Jintao has invited Aquino for talks in Beijing to ease tensions raised by recent events in the South China Sea. Part of Aquino's proposed itinerary would have included a sentimental whirlwind tour of Fujian province, formerly called Amoy, hometown of his great, great grandparents on his maternal side, the late president Corazon Cojuangco Aquino.
But so far Aquino has shrugged off Hu's invitation, while waiting for the US to make good on its promise to deliver modern arms to point in Beijing's direction.
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