USS Comstock arrives in Subic Bay

USS Comstock (LSD 45) with embarked Marines of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, docked in Subic Bay Thursday (Nov. 17) to provide the crew and Marines an opportunity to rest and recuperate after nearly a month and a half at sea.

Subic Bay marks the second port visit for the Comstock after departing Naval Station San Diego on October 14. Several Filipino-American Sailors and Marines will also spend time with their families and experience the local culture while learning about their own heritage.

"I am very proud that my first port visit as the Commanding Officer of the Comstock was to my birthplace, Guam, and I'm even more honored that our next port visit will be to the country where my mother and father were born - the Philippines,” said Comstock Commanding Officer Cmdr. Gervy Alota. “It will be a fantastic opportunity for my crew to enjoy and learn about the history and culture of the Philippines and to strengthen the already close ties between our two nations. I look forward to reuniting with my family and forming new friendships with the people of Subic Bay."

The Comstock and embarked 11th MEU, part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, have been conducting training together for nearly a month and a half at sea. Comstock and other ships of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group are currently on a routine patrol in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the region. The Comstock is based out of Naval Station San Diego, Calif. The 11th MEU is based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. (U.S. Embassy, Manila)

PHOTOS:

The US Navy ship USS Comstock (LSD-45), a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship, docked at the Alava pier of Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales province for a replenishment port call Wednesday (Nov. 16) afternoon as joint US and Philippine special operations forces begins its annual combat exercise dubbed “Balance Piston” in the western province of Palawan. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

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Australian submarine now in Subic Bay

HER Majesty’s Australian Ship (HMAS) Sheean (SSG 77), a Collins-class submarine operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), arrived in Subic Bay Freeport Zone on Friday (Aug. 12) morning.

 A statement by the Naval Public Affairs Office of the Philippine Navy said  the vessel’s port visit to the Philippines will conclude on Aug. 27.

The visiting ship’s commanding officer, Cdr. Jason Cupples, was welcomed on Friday by Cdr. Redentor R. Cortezano of the Naval Education and Training Command.

This was followed by a port briefing on health and security aboard HMAS Sheean.

Philippine Navy spokesperson Capt. Lued Lincuna said the officers and crew of the Australian submarine are set to conduct subject matter expert exchanges and workshop training with PN personnel.

The visit of the RAN submarine and the personnel interaction with their Filipino counterparts are in accordance with the Philippines-Australia Status of Visiting Forces Agreement, which provides a comprehensive legal framework to support defense personnel who are engaged in joint training and other related activities conducted in the Philippines or in Australia.

The visit is expected to strengthen the longstanding partnership of the two nations which paves way for an enhanced cooperation in capacity-building and interoperability to undertake humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations.

Named for Australian seaman Edward Sheean -- the only submarine of the class to be named for an enlisted sailor -- the ship was laid down in 1994 and launched in 1999.

PHOTO:
The HMAS Sheean (SSG 77) surfaces as it approaches Alava Pier at Subic Bay.

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=australian-submarine-in-phl&id=131859

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/08/12/1612779/royal-australian-navy-sub-visits-subic

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EDCA prevails: SC rules, 10-4-1, US-PH defense deal constitutional

Recognizing the power of President Aquino to enter into an agreement with another country, the Supreme Court (SC) upheld yesterday the constitutionality of the Philippines-United States Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), paving the way for an expanded US military presence in the country.

Voting 10-4-1, the SC threw out the petitions filed by former senators Rene Saguisag and Wigberto Tañada as well as militant lawmakers, Bayan Muna Party-list Reps. Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate, who all believed that the EDCA violates provisions on national sovereignty, territorial integrity and interests, freedom from nuclear weapons, and autonomy of local government units in the Charter.

In a news conference, SC Spokesman Theodore Te said that 10 magistrates voted to declare EDCA legal while four voted to declare it illegal. Justice Francis Jardeleza, who was the solicitor general when the EDCA was signed, had inhibited from the case.

The High Tribunal agreed with the respondents that the EDCA only intended to implement an existing law or treaty such as the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

The SC also disagreed with the position submitted by the Senate that the landmark US-Philippines agreement, which was inked on April 28, 2014, should require the concurrence of at least two-thirds of all the members of the Senate.

“As it is, EDCA is not constitutionally infirm. As an executive agreement, it remains consistent with existing laws and treaties that it purports to implement,” read the SC decision penned by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Those who disagreed with the majority decision were Justices Arturo Brion, Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, and Marvic Leonen. Of the 4, Leonen and Bernabe are appointees of President Aquino.

Under the EDCA, the Philippines will allow US troops, planes and ships increased rotational presence in Philippine military bases and for Washington to build facilities to store fuel and equipment here.

Philippine officials said that the agreement is designed to promote between the two ally countries the following: Interoperability, Capacity building towards AFP modernization, Strengthening AFP for external defense, Maritime Security, Maritime Domain Awareness, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR).

The enhanced defense deal, however, does not authorize the establishment of American military bases.

It also gives Philippine personnel access to American ships and planes.

“The agreement is very clear on this matter and specifies in the Preamble the parties’ understanding for the US not to establish a permanent military presence or base in the territory of the Philippines. The EDCA does not authorize the establishment of US bases. It allows the US military access to agreed location,” it said.

The agreement was signed against the backdrop of the Philippines’ maritime dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), and America’s commitment to come to its ally’s defense in case this escalates.

Proponents say the deal aims to help build the capacity of the Philippine military, one of the weakest in Asia.

ARGUMENTS ON EDCA

But the petitioners argued that EDCA is a treaty and not merely an executive agreement as the Aquino administration has claimed.

Because of this, the groups said the EDCA violates Section 25, Article XVIII of the Constitution, which requires that any foreign military bases, troops or facilities “shall not be allowed in the Philippines except under a treaty duly concurred in by the Senate.”

But the government, through Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, has argued that EDCA is a valid executive agreement that could stand even without the concurrence of the Senate.

The SC, for its part, ruled that the EDCA is not the instrument that allows US “troops or facilities” to enter since the VFA has already done that.

Also the SC recognizes the President’s power to enter into executive agreements (different from treaties) not requiring Senate concurrence has been well-recognized and long upheld by the Court.

PALACE ELATED

In Malacañang, Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. hailed the ruling, saying the SC decision “strengthens the strategic partnership between the Philippines and the United States.”

“This ruling boosts the on-going Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) Modernization Program and paves the way for upgrading our military equipment and capability for national defense as well as for humanitarian assistance and disaster response,” Coloma said.

“According to the President, one of the benefits of the EDCA would be to introduce the AFP to the ‘…most modern equipment… and have a generational leap in our abilities’” he added.

US WELCOMES RULING

The United States also welcomed the SC ruling on the constitutionality of EDCA.

“The US welcomes the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which will further strengthen the US-Philippine bilateral relationship,” the US embassy said in a statement.

It said EDCA is a mutually beneficial agreement that will enhance our ability to provide rapid humanitarian assistance and help build capacity for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

“We look forward to working closely with our Philippine partners on the implementation of this agreement,” it further stated.

The PH-US defense pact was inked hours before President Barack Obama arrived in the country for a two-day state visit iin April 2014. It was signed by U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg and Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) described EDCA as a “critical component of our efforts to enhance and strengthen national security and improve our humanitarian assistance and disaster response capabilities.”

ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVE

One of the country’s foremost foreign affairs and economic analysts emphasized, however, that the Philippine government must make sure that the “expected spike in American boots on Philippine soil will not come at the expense of safety and welfare of our citizens, especially those who reside close to the bases.”

Prof. Richard Heydarian, of the De La Salle University in Manila Political Science Department, it is relevant for the Philippines to ensure “fair and balanced treatment for erring foreign troops, to ensure rule of law and uphold justice as well as protect civilian communities from ecological hazards that usually accompany deployment of massive military assets.”

“We must learn from our past experiences and not be solely concerned with China threat,’ said Heydarian in a text message to Manila Bulletin.

He said now that Manila and Washington have overcome “the constitutional hurdle which was by no means certain,” America can now move ahead with augmenting its military presence, albeit rotationally, in Subic and Clark, two major bases that embrace the bitterly contested West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

“Our government hopes that this will serve as a latent deterrent against further Chinese provocations within Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ),” said Heydarian, who is also an expert of Asian geopolitics. “Expanded American military footprint in the area might give China a pause and a reason to rethink its revanchism but it may also very well encourage Beijing to dig and fortify its military-oriented structures and activities in the area.” (Leonard Postrado, with reports from Elena L. Aben, Roy C. Mabasa, Genalyn D. Kabiling, and Charissa M. Luci, Manila Bulletin)

PHOTO:

‘THEY’RE STAYING’ — The ‘USS Topeka,’ a Los Angeles-class submarine, docks at the Alava Pier of the Subic Bay Freeport yesterday, while in Manila, the Supreme Court rules in favor of the constitutionality of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which allows such routine port calls and the use of Philippine port facilities by visiting US military forces. The SC decision drew protesters like this placard-bearing activist (inset) outside its offices in Manila. (Jonas Reyes and Kevin dela Cruz, Manila Bulletin)

Read More - http://www.mb.com.ph/edca-prevails/

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US Marine found guilty of killing transgender Filipino

OLONGAPO, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine court on Tuesday convicted a U.S. Marine of killing a Filipino last year after he discovered she was a transgender woman in a hotel in the Philippines while he was on a break after participating in joint military exercises in the country.

Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton was convicted of homicide by first strangling Jennifer Laude and then dunking her head into a toilet bowl in the hotel they had checked into after meeting in a disco bar in Olongapo city, northwest of Manila. He was sentenced to 6-12 years in jail, with time already spent in detention credited, said court clerk Gerry Gruspe.

Laude's mother, Julita, said that while she was happy the verdict detailed everything that had transpired, she was not pleased with the jail term because she had hoped Penderton would be found guilty of murder, a more serious crime than homicide.

"But the important thing is he will be jailed," she said, crying. "My son's life is not wasted."

Outside the courthouse, a small number of left-wing activists rejoiced but warned that they would closely watch to ensure Pemberton is detained in a Philippine jail, as the judge ordered.

The Oct. 11, 2014, killing sparked anger in the Philippines and reignited calls by left-wing groups and nationalists for an end to America's military presence in the country at a time when the U.S. is reasserting its dominance in Asia and Manila has turned to Washington for support amid an escalating territorial dispute with China.

Pemberton, an anti-tank missile operator from New Bedford, Massachusetts, was one of thousands of American and Philippine military personnel who participated in a joint exercise last year. He and a group of other Marines were on leave after the exercise and met Laude and her friends at a bar in Olongapo, a city known for its nightlife located outside Subic Bay, a former U.S. Naval base. At least two witnesses testified that Laude was a sex worker.

Pemberton and Laude left the bar and checked in together at a nearby hotel. About 30 minutes later, Pemberton walked out, leaving the room's door ajar, according to hotel staff.

Pemberton testified in August that he had choked Laude during a fight that erupted when he discovered she was a transgender woman, but said she was still alive when he left her in a shower, according to his lawyer, Rowena Garcia Flores.

Lawyers of the Laude family, however, said Laude was dead when Pemberton left her. Police have said that Laude had apparently been drowned in a toilet.

In the decision, Regional Trial Court Judge Roline Ginez-Jabalde ordered Pemberton jailed at the New Bilibid Prison, a national penitentiary in suburban Muntinlupa City.

The case also revived a debate over which government should have custody of U.S. military personnel who run afoul of local laws under a Visiting Forces Agreement the two allies signed in 1998.

The agreement, which allows U.S. forces to conduct military exercises in the Philippines, says that the Philippines can prosecute American service members, but that the U.S. has custody over them "from the commission of the offense until completion of all judicial proceedings."

However, the Philippine Supreme Court ruled in 2009 that convicted U.S. personnel must serve their sentences in the Philippines.

In a compromise last year, the U.S. agreed to have Pemberton detained in a compound at Philippine military headquarters in Quezon City guarded by U.S. Marines with an outer ring of Filipino forces.

Left-wing activists and nationalist Filipinos have cited the custody provision as proof that the accord was lopsided in favor of the U.S. and undermines the sovereignty of the Philippines, which was an American colony until 1946. (Jim Gomez And Teresa Cerojano The Associated Press)

PHOTO:
U.S. Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton, center, the suspect in the killing of Filipino transgender Jennifer Laude, is escorted inside the courts at Olongapo city, Zambales province, northwest of Manila, Philippines on Tuesday Dec. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

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No plans to invite US military back to Subic – Palace

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has no plans to invite the United States military back to Subic Bay in Zambales on a permanent basis just to provide a foil to the Chinese threat, as doing so would violate the Constitution, Malacañang said (yesterday).

In a press briefing, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the government is fully aware of the constitutional provision banning foreign military bases and troops in the country.

“And we never do anything that is against the Constitution or laws of the government,” Coloma said.

In April last year, the US and the Philippines signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement to complement the two countries’ Mutual Defense Treaty and Visiting Forces Agreement.

He added the information on the Obama administration allegedly rejecting a $300-million military aid for the Philippines would need to be clarified as well.

“We are ready to give an explanation if they will be able to show that their statement has basis,” Coloma said.

A New York Times News Service report said the 10-year EDCA would set the stage for an American return to several facilities, including the Subic Bay naval base and Clark Air Base.

The agreement has been questioned before the Supreme Court for allegedly being unconstitutional.

Senators also want to ratify the agreement, saying it is a treaty. But this position runs counter to the stand of the executive branch that the EDCA merely implements earlier agreements between the US and the Philippines, particularly the MDT and the VFA.

The executive branch also defends its constitutionality and points out that EDCA will only provide access and use of Philippine military facilities, and that any US military presence will be “at the invitation of the Philippines and with full respect for the Philippine Constitution and Philippine laws.”

Officials also noted the constitutional provision which prohibits the establishment of “foreign military bases… or facilities” in the country – except under a treaty duly concurred in by the Senate – does not apply to EDCA.

In January, it was reported that the US lifted restrictions on a small portion of its military assistance to the Philippines that was withheld over human rights concerns.

The gesture affects about $15 million withheld over the last five years, a fraction of Washington’s total military assistance to the Philippines.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said the aid restriction was lifted “sometime last year”but did not explain why it was lifted.

US Assistant Defense Secretary David Shear also earlier said that Washington had provided $300 million in military-related assistance since 2001 and would provide another $40 million in 2015 as part of America’s support to modernize the poorly equipped Philippine military, one of the weakest in the region. (Aurea Calica, The Philippine Star)

PHOTO: Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. addresses reporters during a press conference in Malacañang.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/09/23/1502963/no-plans-invite-us-military-back-subic-palace
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/no-plans-invite-us-military-000000791.html

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AFP to reopen Subic as Navy, PAF base DND: Irreversible crisis has reached tipping point

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Air Force and Navy will go ahead with a plan to open camps in Subic Bay Freeport facing the disputed South China Sea and West Philippine Sea even if a proposed American military presence doesn’t happen, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said.

Gazmin unveiled plans two years ago to open air force and navy camps at the Freeport so fighter jets and frigates can respond faster to any contingency in the disputed waters where the Philippines has been facing an assertive China, which claims most of the area.

The Philippines signed an expanded defense cooperation agreement with the US last year to allow allied American forces to temporarily station at camps including Subic, but the pact became uncertain after left-wing groups questioned its constitutionality at the Supreme Court.

While a US military presence in the camps would help, Gazmin said the government would proceed to construct the bases soon even if the court eventually decides against access for US troops.

The Philippines has scrambled to modernize its military, one of Asia’s weakest. It has bought 12 new South Korean fighter jets with the first two to be delivered later this year and stationed at Subic, Gazmin said.

Subic Bay, about 80 kilometers northwest of Manila, used to host Washington’s largest naval base outside the American mainland until it was closed down in 1992, ending nearly a century of US military presence.

Three years after, China seized a strategic reef also claimed by Manila, prompting Philippine senators to ratify the pact that allowed American forces to return for annual combat drills.

Roberto Garcia, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority chairman, said an airport and seaport will have a dual military-civilian use.

Businesses, including hotels and restaurants, would likely back the return of military personnel, he said.

American personnel from the USNS Mercy, a huge hospital ship docked in Subic for an annual humanitarian mission, swarmed shopping malls and restaurants. “There was a guy who brought two Christmas lanterns to his ship,” Garcia said.

Japan joins drill

Also in Subic Bay, Japan has joined US-led maritime humanitarian exercises the first time, as concerns over China’s growing assertiveness grow.

A Japanese navy replenishment ship was in Subic Bay, a former US naval base, to refuel a US Navy floating hospital en route to Vietnam for the seven-nation humanitarian mission.

It was the first time a Japanese navy ship has taken part in the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief drills although a flotilla of Japanese training vessels, including a submarine, makes annual port calls in Manila.

Rear Admiral Charles Williams, commander of US Seventh Fleet’s Task Force 73, said humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercises were becoming a regular component of military exercises in the Philippines.

“You are seeing in exercises ... a shift from strictly bilateral engagement to multilateral, which is why you see the Japanese here today,” Williams told journalists aboard USNS Mercy, one of two US hospital ships.

China claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims. Japan and China also have conflicting claims in the East China Sea.

Williams said the presence of Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, head of Japan’s Self-Defence Forces, “speaks volumes about their commitment to the region and their commitment to being part of a multilateral engagement.”

Kawano met Wednesday with Armed Forces chief General Hernando Iriberri, and Gazmin at Camp Aguinaldo, where he expressed interest in holding joint amphibious landing exercises and operations with Philippine marines.

In a meeting with Gazmin, Kawano also expressed interest in sharing information in the South China Sea and capacity building, particularly in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Williams said humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations were “a great avenue towards increasing maritime stability and security in this region,” part of Washington’s rebalance to Asia policy.

While welcoming Japan’s military plans, Gazmin stressed a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) is needed before any joint military undertaking can be allowed on Philippine soil.

“The defense secretary has welcomed Admiral Kawano’s interests in more activities with the Philippines, emphasizing that with regard to conducting such activities, a VFA with Japan would be needed,” DND spokesman Peter Paul Galvez said.

In the absence of the VFA, Japan and the Philippines would make do with a Memorandum on Defense Cooperation and Exchanges.

“Aside from defense equipment cooperation, Admiral Kawano also stressed the importance of capacity building cooperation with the Philippines, particularly on matters concerning Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response,” Galvez said.

Tipping point

China is taking the region to the “tipping point” of an “irreversible crisis” with its plan to build what it calls search and rescue facilities on its newly built artificial islands in the West Philippine Sea, Galvez also said yesterday.

“Maybe we should ask: ‘For whom are those search and rescue facilities for?’ Is it for our ships and installations that they are threatening to destroy?” Galvez said in a text message.

“It must be stopped otherwise it will be the tipping point that will plunge the entire region including the peace-loving Chinese communities into a deeper and irreversible crisis,” he said.

Galvez said such facilities are actually elements of China’s “island building militarization that needs to stop and be dismantled.”

“Regardless of what supposedly ‘good’ details the Chinese leadership informs the peace-focused and rules-based international community, they illegally and blatantly continue with their aggression,” he added.

“They are simply trying to cover their tracks. This is the worst stage of all, this is the militarization stage,” the defense official said.

To strengthen its claim in the South China Sea, China built artificial islands on seven reefs also being claimed by the Philippines.

The construction projects are on Panganiban (Mischief), Zamora (Subi), Kagitingan (Fiery Cross), Kennan (Chigua), Mabini (Johnson South), Burgos (Gaven) and Calderon (Cuarteron) Reefs.

The international community – including the United States and the European Union – has expressed alarm over China’s reclamation activities. Beijing is unperturbed.

Philippine officials said China’s reclamation is a violation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which bars claimant states from engaging in activities than can complicate the situation.

On Tuesday, Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua announced that China is planning to build facilities on reclaimed reefs to support freedom of navigation, search and rescue efforts and scientific research. (Alexis Romero, Jaime Laude, AP, The Philippine Star)

PHOTO:
Cmdre. Primitivo Gopo is the new chief of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao. (Phil Star file photo)

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/08/15/1488227/afp-reopen-subic-navy-paf-base-dnd-irreversible-crisis-has-reached

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Filipino, not US, bases to be established in Subic, says SBMA

The proposed air and naval military installations to be established here will not be permanent foreign bases but merely training and forward launching facilities to be operated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

This was clarified by Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto Garcia in a briefing here amidst concerns raised by militant groups that Subic Bay will again be utilized by United States military forces.

“There is no truth that Subic Bay will again be occupied by US as its military base,” said Garcia.

He said that a 13-hectare space located at the end of the Subic Bay International Airport is all that has been allocated for the Philippine Air Force for the 12 fighter-trainer FA-50 jets to be acquired from South Korea.

In addition, the Alava Pier and Riviera Wharf here will be used by the Philippine Navy, which is transferring its major operation from Sangley Point in Cavite due to depth issues.

Garcia also added that because the proposed base will be established under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), US planes and ships are expected to call on Subic on a rotational basis.

Under EDCA, the Philippine government will allow US to build structures, store and position weapons, defense supplies and materiel, station troops, civilian personnel and defense contractors, transit and station vehicles, vessels, and aircraft for a period of 10 years.

The SBMA chairman believes that Subic Bay is the most strategic port in the country facing the West Philippine Sea that could be used to deploy navy and air forces in case of emergencies.

He said that two more countries — Australia and Japan — have expressed interest in entering into an agreement with the Philippine government for a similar Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) for the conduct of military training and exercises with the Philippine counterparts.

Garcia said that while the constitutionality of EDCA has been questioned before the Supreme Court, “It is coming to a point when you take a stand.”

He added that in the situation when a local fishing ground like the Panatag Shoal, which gives food and earnings to many Filipinos, is being intruded upon by foreign fishermen, “We have to take a stand.”

He stressed that SBMA will always cooperate with the national government in the interest of national security.

When asked if the locators might be hampered by the proposed military installations here, Garcia responded that nothing had been changed except that the locators are happy to hear of the proposal.

“Makikinabang din po kasi sila, especially those in the aircraft-related service providers, such as aircraft maintenance, fuel, catering, and others,” he said.

He also announced that among the preconditions of the agreement was that military installations should not prejudice the interest of the locators and that the priority that will be given to the military for the use of the facilities inside the Freeport would only be in time of national emergencies. (RAV/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:

-An FA-50 light combat aircraft from South Korea (left). The Philippines has purchased 12 of these estimated to be worth US$422 million and will be stationed in Subic Bay. (photo by globalaviationreport.com)

-Philippine frigates BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (middle) and BRP Ramon Alcaraz (right)
(c/o navaltoday.com & wikipedia,org)

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Cancelled port calls won’t affect US-Phl defense ties

Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr. assured the nation yesterday the cancelled port calls of US warships to Subic Bay would not affect the defense ties between the Philippines and the US.

Speaking to reporters in Camp Aguinaldo, Catapang said no joint activities would be discontinued.

“Even if there’s a problem or something like that, we will continue with our military exercises with our US counterparts,” he said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday the US has cancelled the visit of three warships to Subic Bay this month for operational reasons.

Speaking to reporters, DFA spokesman Charles Jose said the cancellation is not related to the murder case against US Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton.

“We don’t see the ongoing case to be a reason,” he said. “We were just informed about the cancellation.”

The three are part of nine US warships scheduled to dock in the former US naval this month and to remain until December.

Jose said the reconsideration of port visits is normal occurrence as US warships are deployed in many areas of the Pacific and subject to changing operational requirements.

“The DFA was informed through normal diplomatic channels of the cancellation of the visits to Subic of three US Navy ships for operational reasons,” he said.

Jose said the ships are not part of a joint military training in the Philippines.

“Usually the purpose of port calls is for repairs, for operational reasons,” he said. “We can say they are not related to joint exercises. The exercises are not related to port calls.” (Alexis Romero, Pia Lee-Brago, The Philippine Star)

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/11/04/1387867/cancelled-port-calls-wont-affect-us-phl-defense-ties

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9 US ships cancel port calls to Subic

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Philippines—Nine US Navy ships scheduled to arrive here this month until December have decided to cancel their port calls due to “anti-American sentiments” in the country after a US Marine was implicated in the slaying of a Filipino transgender in Olongapo City last month, a group of business owners said.

The Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC) said the cancellation disappointed local businessmen, who had been preparing for the “liberty” (rest and recreation) of American troops.

“This anticipated visit could have meant a better Christmas for the business owners and their employees…. But after the cancellation, one can only imagine the disappointed faces,” the SBFCC said in a statement sent to the Inquirer on Sunday.

The US Embassy and the Department of Foreign Affairs on Sunday night couldn’t immediately confirm the cancellation of the port calls by the nine US Navy ships in Subic.

Kurt Hoyer, US Embassy first secretary and press attaché, told the Inquirer that he still had to check the information.

In a separate phone interview, DFA spokesman and Assistant Secretary Charles Jose also said he had to verify whether the department had information about the cancellation of the port calls.

However, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority chair Roberto Garcia confirmed the cancellation of the port calls.

Citing a report from Global Terminals and Development Inc., which operates ports here and provides service to US Navy ships, Garcia on Sunday said four ships were supposed to visit this free port this month while five were expected in December.

Garcia said the port visits were “put on hold until further notice.”

But he said two US Navy ships—USS Pecos and USNS Mary Sears—were scheduled to arrive here next week for emergency repairs.

The SBFCC said the death of transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude not only caused a social and political impact, “but an economic chain reaction as well.”

Laude was found dead in a motel in Olongapo City on the night of Oct. 11, a few minutes after her American companion left.

Her companion, who was later identified by witnesses as US Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton, is facing a murder complaint filed by Laude’s family in the Olongapo Prosecutor’s Office.

Pemberton is held in a detention facility jointly managed by the American and Philippine governments at the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

The SBFCC said it sympathized with the Laude family and had joined calls that justice be served.

But Laude’s death, it said, brought about losses and unrealized income for many establishments in the Subic Bay area.

“On the other side of things, businesses in the city and in the bay [area] are also restless. But more than being twitchy, these businesses are suffering,” the statement said.

It said businessmen here found it unfair that there was an impression that people in this free port and nearby Olongapo City were not receptive to visits by US troops.

“We also want the US Navy to know that they are still welcome to visit Subic Bay and enjoy the culture and beauty of our natural flora and fauna, and the festivities that we offer,” the SBFCC said. (Allan Macatuno, Inquirer Central Luzon, with a report from Christine O. Avendaño in Manila)

PHOTO:
In this Oct. 17, 2014, photo, a US marine walks inside the USS Peleliu, where US Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton was said to be detained after allegedly killing Filipino transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude at the Subic Bay free port, Zambales province. Nine US Navy ships scheduled to arrive in Subic in November until December have decided to cancel their port calls due to “anti-American sentiments” in the country after Pemberton was implicated in the slaying of Laude, a group of business owners said. (AP PHOTO/AARON FAVILA)


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US to yield Pemberton, 4 others

Palace says VFA, murder different issues

The United States government yesterday said it would comply with a local prosecutor’s order to produce a murder suspect and four other US Marines in the investigation into the killing of transgender Jennifer Laude.

The prosecutor ordered the five US Marines to give depositions at a formal hearing on Tuesday after police named one of them as a suspect in the October 11 hotel killing in Olongapo City.

“The United States will continue to assist in the investigation to help ensure justice is served,” US embassy spokesman Anna Richey said in an emailed response to AFP’s request for comment.

“This will include making the suspect, witnesses, and any evidence gathered available to the Philippine authorities,” she added.

Richey said the suspect was being held on board the USS Peleliu pending an investigation into the death of Laude, described by local police as a transgender sex worker.

The four other American Marines sought by prosecutors were described by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as witnesses.

Malacañang also rushed to the defense of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), saying the issue on Laude’s killing and the agreement’s review should be treated separately.

Civic groups said the quest for justice for Laude’s murder may be compromised because of the country’s defense agreement with the US.

“The issue for Jennifer should be treated separately. Because the issue on the VFA and calls for its abrogation, (as well as) calls for its review should be discussed on a different level,” deputy presidential spokesman Abigail Valte said.

“Those are two separate issues, there are many considerations when you talk about the review of a particular agreement that we have with another sovereign country,” she added.

And as far as the investigation on Laude’s death is going, there is a process that everyone has to follow to the letter to make sure that there are no technical aspects that are being forgotten, Valte said.

It would also be a disservice to Laude if prosecutors rush things up and in the end lost the case because of technical issues, she said.

The Laude family complained of the delays in the government’s investigation on the case.

The government can’t rush things up, Valte said because there is a process that has to be followed in terms of dealing with criminal complaints relating to US servicemen.

Joseph Scott Pemberton, a member of the US Marines, is the prime suspect in the alleged killing last week of Laude.

The US Pacific Command earlier ordered the warship to remain at a port near Olongapo while the murder investigation was ongoing.

Police said they found the victim half-naked on the bathroom floor of a room with more than a dozen bruises, cuts and bite marks.

They said the victim, who had checked in with the suspect just over an hour earlier, had died from “asphyxia by drowning.”

Police and the prosecutor both named the suspect as Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, attached to a North Carolina-based unit that had just taken part in joint military exercises in the Philippines.

Following the hearings, which could take days or weeks, the prosecutor can either bring criminal charges or drop the case. If Pemberton is charged with murder and convicted, he could face life in prison.

The government has said that the politically charged case should not be allowed to derail longstanding defense ties between Manila and Washington, amid growing public pressure for Pemberton to be handed over into local custody.

The killing occurred after the Philippines reached an agreement in March to allow its US military ally wider temporary access to Filipino military facilities.

American forces vacated large US military bases in the Philippines in 1992 as nationalist sentiment rose.

But Manila has sought closer defence ties in recent years in a bid to modernise its armed forces amid tense maritime disputes with China.

Vice President Jejomar Binay also expressed hopes justice will be given to Laude as he extended his condolences to Jennifer’s mother Julita at Laude’s wake in Olongapo City.

“I am condoling with the family and it is my fervent hope that justice is rendered. Somebody was killed and justice is expected,” Binay said.

Binay said he was in Zambales to check on the government’s housing projects in the province and decided to pay his respects when he learned Jennifer’s wake was being held in Olongapo.

“Somebody told me here in Cabangan that Jennifer resides here. So I decided to visit the wake and express my condolences,” he said.

“I talked to her mother who came from Leyte. She’s a Waray, and she has five children,” he added.

Pemberton remains under US custody aboard the amphibious warship USS Peleliu, currently docked at Subic Bay, as provided for by the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

Article 5, paragraph 6 of the VFA states that the custody of a US soldier facing criminal charges remains with US authorities “if they so request, from the commission of the offense until completion of all judicial proceedings.” The Philippine government retains jurisdiction of the investigation.

Liberal Party (LP) Secretary General and Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento, however, said the brutal murder of Laude allegedly by a US Marine soldier must spark a review of the VFA and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) to ensure more rigid rules on the conduct of visiting American troops in the Philippines.

Sarmiento said that the entire nation should condemn the senseless killing of Laude, and called for a swift review of the nitty-gritty of both the VFA and the EDCA especially on the conduct of US troops during the duration of their stay in the Philippines.
Sarmiento added that clearer parameters should be set whenever an American soldier is involved in felony especially on the custody issue, which remains a gray area in the VFA.

“We should all condemn this gruesome murder of Laude and our government would definitely ask nothing less than justice. This incident should spark a more exhaustive review of the nitty-gritty of the VFA and EDCA and tweak it some more so that it becomes mutually beneficial to both the Philippines and the US,” he said.

However, Sarmiento maintained that the incident should not be used as a basis to abrogate a treaty between two friendly nations especially with the US giving all the needed support to ensure that the primary suspect, US Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, submits himself to the country’s criminal justice system.

“The US government has extended all the support that we need to ensure that justice takes its course. Like us, I’m sure that the US government would want Pemberton to answer for him crime,” Sarmiento said.

He said that the VFA and the defense cooperation between the Philippines and the US should continue to ensure that the balance of power in Southeas Asia is maintained.

“We have to continue honoring our treaty obligations while adopting measures to avoid similar incidents in the future. The country’s security cooperation and strategic partnership with the US should be strengthened and not weakened by this tragic incident,” Sarmiento said. (Charlie V. Manalo, The Daily Tribune, with AFP)

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/us-to-yield-pemberton-4-others

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Philippine police accuse US Marine in murder case

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine police filed a murder complaint Wednesday against a U.S. Marine accused of killing a transgender Filipino, in an emotional case expected to test the country's military ties with the United States.

Police Chief Inspector Gil Domingo said Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton was the last person seen with the victim late Saturday, when they checked into a motel after meeting in a bar in Olongapo city northwest of Manila.

Jennifer Laude, whose former name was Jeffrey, was found with her head resting on the motel room's toilet bowl, apparently after being drowned, Domingo said. The criminal complaint was filed with prosecutors, who will decide formal charges. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Embassy.

A number of witnesses told investigators they saw Laude, 26, and Pemberton at the bar and at the motel, where the Marine was seen leaving shortly before the victim was found dead, Domingo said.

Police suspect Pemberton may have been angered when he discovered in the motel room that Laude was a transgender individual or because of an argument sparked by other reasons. Laude had not undergone gender reassignment surgery, Domingo said.

Pemberton took part in combat exercises involving thousands of American and Filipino troops. He is being held on the USS Peleliu in the Subic Bay free port, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Manila, according to U.S. military officials.

U.S. Pacific commander Adm. Samuel Locklear, who was in Manila early this week for annual security talks with Philippine defense officials, initially ordered the Peleliu and other Navy ships to stay in the Philippines pending an investigation into the killing.

All the ships except the Peleliu were later cleared to leave the country as the investigation progressed, according to Philippine officials.

"We will continue to cooperate fully with the Philippine law enforcement authorities in every aspect of the investigation," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in Washington.

Dozens of activists burned a mock U.S. flag in a protest at the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday and tearfully demanded that Washington hand over Pemberton to Philippine authorities. They called for abolishment of the Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows U.S. forces to join large-scale combat exercises with Filipino troops and permits the U.S. to take custody of its soldiers who run afoul of Philippine laws.

The murder case emerged as security ties were blossoming between the United States and the Philippines. The longtime military allies signed a new accord in April that allows greater U.S. military access to Philippine military camps, and both countries have been vocal critics of China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea.

"This is another test case of how strong and important this alliance is," political analyst Renato de Castro said.

The U.S. and the Philippines disagreed over the custody of another Marine in an earlier criminal case.

The Marine was sentenced to life in prison on charges of raping a Filipino woman in 2005, but a Philippine appeals court overturned the conviction in 2009, allowing him to leave the country amid anti-U.S. protests. (Jim Gomez, Associated Press)
___
Associated Press writer Matthew Pennington in Washington contributed to this report.

https://ph.news.yahoo.com/philippine-police-accuse-us-marine-murder-case-131819572.html

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Let justice be done, says Aquino

COMMUNICATIONS Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. yesterday said President Aquino wants all government agencies concerned to make sure the killing of a transgender in Olongapo City is solved.

He assured the family of 26-year-old Jeffrey Laude there will be no whitewash.

Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, a member of the US Marine Corps, has been identified s the killer, and is being detained at the USS Peleliu which is docked at Subic Bay.

Coloma acknowledged the concerns of Laude’s family, including their call for speedy investigations.

“Lahat naman po ng pamilya ng mga nagiging biktima ng mga krimen ay naghahangad ng agarang solusyon. Iyon din po ang hangad ng ating pamahalaan. Kalakip na po iyon doon sa pagsasabi that the ends of justice will be served, at hindi po ba may kasabihang ‘justice delayed is justice denied.’ Kaya dapat lamang na maging agaran ang paghahanap ng solusyon at paggawad ng katarungan dito,” he said.

Quoting Eduardo Oban, executive director of the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement, said the Philippine and US governments have agreed on the importance of a thorough investigation “so that the ends of justice will be served.”

Admiral Samuel Locklear, chief of the US Pacific Command, expressed “regrets” over the killing.

Locklear relayed the message to AFP chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang during the annual Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board meeting held in Camp Aguinaldo. Locklear and Catapang are the co-chairmen of the boards.

“He (Locklear) talked about it. In fact, personally he wants to say his regrets for what has happened, that unfortunate incident,” said Catapang.

“He said that he sympathizes with the family for what had happened, and he wants a full investigation to be conducted by the NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigation Service) together with the PNP,” said Catapang, quoting Locklear.

The defense department said the killing is an isolated and tragic incident and that should not undermine future military exercise with US troops and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement which was signed last April.

“This is an isolated incident, albeit a tragic one. We call on all concerned not to lose sight of the bigger picture and to look at these—PH-US exercises, EDCA and homicide–as different issues,” said DND spokesman Peter Paul Galvez.

Militant congressmen continued to pounce on the EDCA and the VFA, saying the case only proves that concerns over the one-sidedness of the agreements “are not imagined.”

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said the Aquino government should have immediately asserted authority over the custody of US Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton. (Jocelyn Montemayor, Malaya)

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/let-justice-be-done-says-aquino

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US Marine tagged in transgender slay named

OLONGAPO - Police have identified the US Marine being linked to the murder of a transgender woman in Olongapo City last Saturday.

Police identified the suspect as PFC Joseph Scott Pemberton.

A Navytimes.com report earlier said the US Marine is assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The infantry unit is currently in the Philippines for a joint training exercise.

The US Embassy in Manila earlier confirmed that a US Marine is a suspect in the murder of Jeffrey Laude alias Jennifer. It also expressed condolences to the family and friends of Laude.

"A U.S. Marine has been identified as a possible suspect in the ongoing investigation. The suspected Marine is assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He is being held onboard USS Peleliu while a joint Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Philippine National Police investigation is conducted," the embassy said.

"The United States will continue to fully cooperate with Philippine law enforcement authorities in every aspect of the investigation."

The body of Jeffrey Laude alias Jennifer was found by hotel staff late Saturday, less than an hour after the victim checked into a room with an unidentified blonde male suspect.

The "foreigner" with Laude had close-cropped hair, was of medium build, and "casually" walked out of the hotel later without settling his bill, prompting hotel staff to check the room, police investigator Mary Ann Sadaba told AFP.

Based on the initial investigation of the Olongapo police, Laude's neck was pressed down on the toilet seat, while her head was being shoved into the toilet bowl.

Two used condoms were also found in the garbage can inside the hotel room.

There were no signs of a struggle in the bedroom and Laude's belongings were complete.

Police are now looking at two motives behind the killing.

One -- The foreigner could have found out that Laude was a transgender. However, authorities doubt this theory because of the used condoms discovered in the room.

Another theory of investigators is Laude could have tried to steal from the foreigner.

The LGBT group Ladlad said there is no justification for the killing.

"Baka niloko daw ni Jennifer yung Amerikano. Sa akin naman walang deception na nangyari. She was living her life, and hindi ito lisensya para pumatay ng tao," Santy Layno, Ladlad Board of Trustees member, said.

The Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement, meanwhile, assured the Laude family of justice.

"Sa pamilya po ni Jennifer Laude, we're expressing our deepest sympathy. At nandun na din po ang assurance ng ating pamahalaan ganun din po ang pamahalaan ng Amerika that we will work closely together to ensure that justice is served," said Gen. Eduardo Oban, executive director of the PCVFA. (ABS-CBNnews, with a report by Agence France-Presse)

PHOTO:
CCTV footage capture shows the victim, Jeffrey Laude, and the suspect now identified as "PFC Jeffrey Scott Pemberton" in a bar before the crime allegedly happened in Celzone Lodge, Olongapo City.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/10/14/14/us-marine-tagged-transgender-slay-named

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US bars ships from leaving PHL after slay of transgender woman

US Pacific Commander Samuel Locklear has barred American military vessels from leaving the Philippines until the investigation on the alleged killing of a Filipino transgender woman by a US Marine is over, a senior Philippine official said Monday.

Transgender woman Jeffrey Laude was found dead in an Olongapo City inn over the weekend. She was reported to have been seen with a foreigner before her death.

“I’d like to tell you that the Pacific Commander ordered that no US ships will leave the Philippines until we are done with the investigation,” Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) Executive Director Eduardo Oban told reporters at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The US Embassy in a statement said a US Marine had been identified "as a possible suspect in the ongoing investigation."

"The United States will continue to fully cooperate with Philippine law enforcement authorities in every aspect of the investigation," it added.

According to a report on Marine Corps Times, citing an internal Navy memo, a US Marine has been placed in custody on board the Peleliu in connection with the incident.

Filipino and US officials in the Philippines, however, have yet to confirm this.

Chief Superintendent Raul Petrasanta, the regional director of the PNP in Central Luzon, said some of the members of the US Marines have been presented to witnesses in a police line-up.

"Police line-up pa lang. Pina-identify sa witness and all of them belong to the US Marines," Petrasanta said.

Jurisdiction

But Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario explained that under the VFA, the Philippines could take custody over a US serviceman if he is accused of committing a heinous crime in the country.

“The VFA is very clear that we have jurisdiction. In the normal course of events, the US would have custody, but they would have to produce the suspect for court cases. But in the case of heinous crimes, we could ask them to waive custody and so I suppose it could go in that direction,” he said in an interview.

In an event an American servicemen is involved in a crime in the country, the Philippines has the jurisdication over the case, according to the the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

However, the VFA also said that the custody of the suspect goes to the United States of America. But, the US authorities are mandated to present the suspect in all judicial proceedings.

"As embodied in the VFA--it's under article 5, paragraph 6--the custody of a US serviceman involved in a particular case resides in the US military authorities," Oban said.

The VFA governs the treatment of US servicemen in military units and defense personnel who are in the Philippine territory for short periods for joint military exercises approved by both the Philippine and US governments.

American soldiers regularly train with their Filipino counterparts as allowed by the VFA, which entered into force on May 27, 1999, eight years after the closure of US military bases in the Philippines in 1991. It was negotiated and signed during the time of President Fidel V. Ramos and ratified during President Joseph Estrada’s time.

Oban said the suspect was part of the more than 3,500 American troops who took part in joint military exercises in Zambales last month.

PHL-US relations

The incident came out in the media months after the Philippines and the US signed a new military pact that will expand the presence and role of American soldiers in the country.

The suspected American marine, who was not identified by US and Philippine officials, is the second US soldier to be involved in a criminal act in the country since 2005.

Nine years ago, Lance Corporal Daniel Smith was charged and later on convicted for the rape of a Filipino woman. The case, which sparked a diplomatic row between Manila and Washington, was dismissed after the victim reversed her testimony.

Laude, 26, was found dead inside the Celzone Lodge in Olongapo City. Initial reports said she was last seen with a foreigner.

The DFA said it is closely coordinating with the US government and concerned agencies on the issue.

“We have received an initial report on the incident and we note that investigations are ongoing and we are awaiting the results of the investigation,” DFA spokesman Charles Jose told a press briefing. “We are committed to do our part to ensure that justice is served.”

Del Rosario, for his part, described the incident as “tragic.”

“But we will work together in terms of being able to deliver what’s just,” he said. (KBK/NB, GMA News)

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/383336/news/nation/us-bars-ships-from-leaving-phl-after-slay-of-transgender-woman

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Amb. Goldberg: EDCA will not reopen US bases in PH

Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, left,
shakes hands with U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg
after signing the Enhanced Defense Cooperation
Agreement at Camp Aguinaldo, Philippine military
headquarters in suburban Quezon city, north
of Manila, Philippines on Monday,  April 28, 2014.
AP/Aaron Favila

After eight months of negotiations, both countries inked the 10-year Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). Goldberg and Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin signed the deal hours before US President Barack Obama arrives in the Philippines for a two-day state visit.

US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg clarified, the EDCA will not reopen United States military bases in the Philippines.

“It will not reopen US bases. It is an agreement to enhance our defense relationships,” Goldberg said.

EDCA is set to enhance both countries defense cooperation and increase the presence of US soldiers in the country. It is supposed to increase training opportunities for Filipino and US forces, plus greater ability to respond to humanitarian operations.

“The agreement we signed today will be an important part of the existing MDT (Mutual Defense Treaty) and VFA (Visiting Forces Agreement) frameworks. But it will also serve to update our security alliance to meet the increasingly complex challenges of the 21st century, whether it is terrorism, transnational crimes, or disasters like typhoon Haiyan,” he said.

Goldberg noted, the largest bilateral military exercise, Balikatan, will kick off next week.

Meanwhile, Gazmin said the Philippines will have better access to US military equipment, supplies and personnel because of the agreement.

"It enables us to do more by making necessary equipment and infrastructure available.Alliances evolve, partnerships develop, engagements mature, but all through out, it is the shared trust to move forward together that keeps what is in place such as the MDT and VFA. This is the essence of a maturing relationship," he said.

He added, "The document we signed only manifests the defense relationship between the Philippines and the United States but equally serves as a framework for furthering our alliance as encapsulated in the Enhanced Defense Cooperation. Underpinned by the common goal being able to meet the security challenges that both the Philippines and the United States share in common, our alliance has continued to evolve as both our countries continuously search for mechanisms that would enhance our individual and collective abilities to face such security challenges." (ANC/Yahoo News)

read more --> https://anc.yahoo.com/news/goldberg--edca-will-not-reopen-us-bases-in-ph-030909508.html

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Business first for Subic – SBMA (US Military Presence Must Have Parameters)

Despite the impending utilization of this premier Freeport by US and Japanese military forces, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Robert Garcia said that it should first function what it was mandated for, a special economic zone.

This was bared recently during an interview with Garcia, adding that the deal should first comply with three parameters before taking into full effect, that is if it in line with the Constitution, with the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), and with Subic Bay Freeport as an economic zone.

Garcia said that they need to balance the military presence while upholding Republic Act 7227, the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992. But Garcia also acknowledged the issue of national security and that the SBMA answers to the national government.

“How can you say no to the President? The agency answers to the national government, and if the national government says the military presence here is for our security concerns, who are we to question them?” Garcia explained.

One of the areas, the Alava Pier, will only be used by military vessels. Commercial wharves of the Subic Bay Freeport will not be affected by the military operations conducted by the country and its foreign allies.

He pointed out that it will still be business as usual for the other ports. Garcia also said that Alava Pier will only be used for supply replenishment, ship repair and docking but will not be used for deployment.

“We are in a difficult financial position, with that, we will ask for the lease and rental be paid. President Aquino also said that we should ask the US government for funding to repair the ageing Alava Pier since they will be the one who will use it more often,” Garcia said.

Aside from the usual places like the airport and wharves, the SBMA chief still doesn’t know which facilities the military will be using. “It will be up to them, but rest assured that Subic Freeport will stay true to its mandate,” Garcia said.

The SBMA is the operating and implementing arm of the Government of the Philippines for the development of the 262 square mile (670 square kilometer) area of Subic Bay Freeport into a self-sustaining tourism, industrial, commercial, financial, and investment center to generate employment opportunities. This area was the former US Naval facility in Subic Bay.

On March 13, 1992, the Philippine Congress passed Republic Act 7227, known as the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992, in anticipation of the pullout of the US military bases in the country.

Section 13 of RA 7227 created the SBMA to develop and manage the Freeport which provides tax and duty-free privileges and incentives to business locators in the special economic zone.

To date, Subic Bay Freeport has around 90,000 employees with close to 1,200 companies who are investing and banking on Filipino skills. Touted as the economic flagship of the country, Subic Freeport was once the biggest earning economic zone in the country.(Jonas Reyes, Manila Bulletin)

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US access to Subic eyed

DEFENSE Secretary Voltaire Gazmin yesterday said government is crafting an agreement that will allow American forces to regain access to their former naval base in Subic.

He said the Americans will not be putting up military bases in the country.

Asked about reports that the military has revived plans to build new air and naval bases at Subic Bay, Gazmin said: “Let me clarify issues. We’re not going to construct bases. We will be accepting access. Right now, the agreement has not been firmed up. We are in the process of crafting the agreement relative to our Constitution and the Visiting Forces Agreement.”

The VFA, ratified by the Senate in 1999, allows US forces full access to Philippine bases.

Reuters, quoting senior Navy officials on revived plans, said the bases would allow the Philippines to station warships and fighter jets just 124 nautical miles from Scarborough Shoal, a contentious area of the South China Sea now controlled by China after a tense standoff last year.

It also said the proposed bases in the Philippines coincides with a resurgence of US warships, planes and personnel in the region as Washington turns its attention to a newly assertive China and shifts its foreign, economic and security policy towards Asia.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry, asked about the Subic plan, urged China’s neighbors to push for peace.

“China urges the Philippines and regional countries to meet one another halfway, make joint efforts to maintain mutual trust between countries, make positive efforts towards regional peace and security and play a constructive role,” said ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

Gazmin, last April while there was tension in the Korean peninsula, said US forces might be allowed access to Philippine bases in case of “extreme emergency.” He also said then that the US would not be allowed to put up bases because that is against the Constitution.

Gazmin, in an ambush interview after meeting yesterday with visiting Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, said after an agreement is crafted and if it is approved, “then there will be equipment coming in from the United States.”

“We have not talked about specific equipment yet but we do welcome the inclusion of a new technology, very new to us, so that this is part of our education,” said Gazmin.

On whether other countries like Japan would also be allowed access, Gazmin said: “We do welcome other countries, particularly Japan since Japan is a strategic partner, in accordance with our existing protocols.”

Onodera said he and Gazmin discussed during their meeting the US rebalancing program. He acknowledged that the US presence in the region is “very important.”

“We agreed that Japan and Philippines will work together to make this rebalance a reality,” said Onodera.

“I have heard they (Philippines) are making efforts to further increase rotational deployment of the United States forces and I also heard or learned that the Philippine side is now discussing with United States further increase of United States presence in the Philippines,” he said.

Gazmin said the increased rotational presence of US forces can be done through “high value, high impact” exercises that are being regularly conducted by Filipino and US forces.

Defense department spokesman Peter Paul Galvez, asked to elaborate on Gazmin’s statement that an agreement allowing US forces to have access to their former naval base is being crafted, talked of a “plan” instead.

“A plan being made is the transfer of some PAF (Philippine Air Force) units to Subic. Moreover, Subic has deep water port for the warships Alcaraz and Del Pilar,” said Galvez, referring to the Hamilton-class cutters BRP Ramon Alcaraz and Gregorio del Pilar acquired from the US.

“It is coincidental that Subic is near Bajo de Masinloc,” said Galvez, referring to Scarborough Shoal.

“It is to allow access to our military facilities to strategic partners,” said Galvez, without elaborating on the extent of the access that is being planned to be given to the US.

MIX-UP?

Asked what will be the difference between the “access” being given to US forces now and that being planned, Galvez said: “The two issues are being mixed up. First, what is being studied is the implementation of the US increased rotational presence under the VFA (Visiting Forces Agreement). `Access’ is one of the modalities we are exploring to implement the increased rotational presence. Re Subic, the AFP is studying relocating units in some portions of Subic for strategic defense purposes.”

Subic, a deep-water port sheltered by jungle-clad mountains, has been a special economic zone since US forces were evicted in 1992, ending 94 years of American military presence in the Philippines and shutting the largest US military installation in Southeast Asia.

Since then, American warships and planes have been allowed to visit the Philippines for maintenance and re-fuelling.

US military “rotations” through the Philippines have become more frequent as Beijing grows more assertive in the South China Sea.

Reuters quoted the senior military officials as saying they believe the plan has a strong chance of winning approval as Aquino seeks to upgrade the country’s decrepit forces.

Another Philippine navy officer said the arrival in a few weeks of a second Hamilton-class cutter from the United States would put pressure on the navy to find a suitable port for large warships.

Since 2002, US forces helping fight al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants in Mindanao have shared several bases with Philippine troops.

US Navy surveillance planes are allocated spaces in a local air force base at Clark.

“We’ve seen a lot of similar ‘joint use’ arrangement. The US does not want bases, only access,” a Navy captain familiar with the Subic proposal told Reuters.

“We will share our bases with them and I am sure the US would love them.”

URGENCY

Congress last year approved $1.8 billion for military modernization, with the bulk going to acquisition of ships, aircraft, and equipment such as radar. The military had raised the plan in the past, but is now pushing it with more urgency following a series of naval stand-offs with China.

“The chances of this plan taking off under President Aquino are high because his administration has been very supportive in terms of equipment upgrade,” said a senior military officer who asked not to be identified.

“The people around him understood our needs and more importantly, what our country is facing at this time.”

A 30-hectare area has been identified for the bases, which would station fighter jets and the Philippines’ biggest warships that patrol the disputed sea, including the Hamilton-class cutter ships BRP del Pilar which arrived the country in 2011 and BRP Ramon Alcaraz which is expect to arrive next month.

The plan has taken on added urgency since the tense two-month standoff last year at the Scarborough Shoal. Chinese ships now control the shoal, often chasing away Filipino fishermen.

The South China Sea dispute will again loom large over regional diplomacy next week when US Secretary of State John Kerry joins his counterparts from Southeast Asian nations and China among other countries for an annual meeting in Brunei.

The Philippines plans to raise the issue of Chinese ships’ “encroachment” near another disputed coral reef where Manila recently beefed up its small military presence, diplomatic sources told Reuters. China in turn has accused the Philippines of “illegal occupation” of the reef, which is a strategic gateway to an area believed to be rich in oil and natural gas.

THEME PARK SHELVED

Roberto Garcia, chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, which oversees the Subic Bay Freeport, confirmed the plan to build the new bases, saying he had shelved plans in the area for a theme park to make way for it.

“I don’t see any problem if the government wants to build an air and naval base in the Freeport area,” Garcia said, noting the increase in the number of US military port calls to Subic.

This year alone, 72 US warships and submarines visited Subic, compared with 88 for all of 2012, 54 in 2011 and 51 in 2010, according to official data.

CUBI POINT

The Philippine military also wants to revive an airstrip that once handled some of the largest military aircraft in the US arsenal. The former Cubi Point Naval Air Station, carved out of a mountain adjoining Subic, served FedEx Corp cargo plans after the US forces withdrew.

But FedEx ceased operations at the airstrip, now called Subic Bay International Airport, in 2009. Two senior Air Force officers told Reuters the military had proposed to Aquino to convert parts of the airstrip into an air base. (Victor Reyes, Malaya - With Reuters)

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More US navy ships visit Subic

At least seven United States Navy ships—a submarine, amphibious assault vessels, a helicopter carrier, and destroyers —were expected to arrive in the Philippines in the next few days to take part in a massive joint military exercises involving the two countries, officials said on Thursday.

Lt. Cherry Tindog, director of the Philippine Marine Corps Public Affairs Office, said the 10-day exercises will kick-off on October 8 near Palawan and Zambales provinces, a highly strategic area because of the territorial row between the Philippines and China over a group of islands in the West Philippine Sea.

During the maneuvers, dubbed the PH-US Amphibious Landing Exercise 2013, a US Marine air-ground task force would link up with 1,2000 Filipino troops, Tindog said.

The USS Olympia, a Los Angeles class submarine, was the first to arrive in the country. The helicopter-carrier, USS Bonhomme Rchaird, an amphibious assault ship with 2,200 US Marines, and two destroyer ships were expected to arrive at the Subic Freeport on Friday.

The amphibious landing exercise could be one of the most massive activities compared to previous PH-US Balikatan Exercises under the visiting Forces Agreement. Other than the Marine contingents, the USS Bonhomme Richard will also be carrying amphibious assault vehicles, light armoured vehicles and Harrier fighter jets.

Philippine participants in the exercise will include the Marines, the Army, the Air Force, the Navy Air Group and Special Operation Group, Tindog said.

He said the exercises in the Palawan area—which has territorial jurisdiction over the Spratly’s and Zambales, which considers the Panatag Shoal as part of the province—were intended “to enhance the strong defense partnership between the Philippines and the United States.” (Willie E. Capulong, Manila Standard Today)

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US nuclear-powered sub on ‘routine port call’ arrives in Subic

A nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine of the US Navy arrived here on Monday for what American officials called a “routine port call.”

USS Louisville (SSN 724), which is currently stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, belongs to the Los Angeles class of attack submarines that are considered the backbone of the American submarine force in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

The 360-foot long, 6,900-ton ship is said to be armed with sophisticated MK48 torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles.

According to a statement from the US Embassy in Manila, the Louisville will be in port from June 25 to June 30 to replenish supplies and to give the crew an opportunity for rest and relaxation.

The visit also “highlights the strong historic, community and military connections between the United States and the Republic of the Philippines,” the embassy said.

The submarine’s arrival came 40 days after the USS North Carolina, another nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine of the next-generation Virginia class, docked in Subic amid tension between the Philippines and China over Scarborough Shoal, a resource-rich rocky outcropping some 130 nautical miles northwest of this free port.

According to the official US Navy web site, the Louisville’s mission is to “seek out and destroy enemy ships and submarines, and to protect our naval interests.”

Like 31 of the 51 Los Angeles types in the US Navy’s submarine fleet, the Louisville is equipped with 12 vertical US launch system tubes for firing Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles. It also carries Harpoon anti-surface ship missiles with a range of 70 nautical miles (130 km) and has mine-laying capabilities.

As an attack submarine, the Louisville has received awards for its role in the Navy’s Middle East campaign. It reportedly carried out the first war patrol conducted by an American submarine since World War II as Operation: Desert Storm began in January 1991, and also earned the distinction of being the first to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles against targets in Iraq, as well as having fired the first war shot of Desert Storm.

The submarine again participated in Operation: Iraqi Freedom in 2003, launching 16 Tomahawk missiles from the Red Sea against targets in Iraq.

The US Embassy said the Louisville will not be open to any media activity during its stay at Subic Bay Freeport.

Lt. Col. Omar Tonsay, Philippine Navy spokesman, said there was nothing unusual with the submarine’s presence in the country.

Its “diplomatic clearance is only for replenishment. [It has] no involvement with the Philippine Navy,” he added.

Tonsay said the Louisville applied for clearance to dock at Subic as early as May this year. (Henry Empeño, BusinessMirror)

PHOTO:
Crew of the nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine USS Louisville can be seen on top of its hull and conning tower, as it slides into Subic Bay Freeport on Monday. The US Navy ship is slated for a few days of resupply, and rest and recreation.

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'VFA should govern use of former bases by US troops'

MANILA - American troops, warships and planes will use the former US military facilities in Subic and Clark temporarily on rotation basis and in accordance with the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), the military said yesterday.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said the recent docking of nuclear-powered attack submarine USS North Carolina in Subic Bay is an example of this military-to-military arrangement.

“As long as they have coordinated and got clearance from the government and they comply with the VFA, we see no problem with that,” he said.

US troop presence on a temporary basis is expected to increase in Subic and in other areas in the country following US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s statement that they are increasing their military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Panetta declared that 60 percent of US warships would be redeployed in the region, a new US military strategy seen as an equalizer to the increasing Chinese naval might in the South China Sea.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Defense Undersecretary Honorio Azcueta said the US warships and planes can use the former US naval base and its airfield on a temporary basis while in the country, provided that these visits have prior clearance from the government and are in conformity with the VFA.

“They can come here provided they have prior coordination with the government,” he said. Azcueta said US troops, warships and fighter planes would be allowed access to their former naval base in Subic.

“That’s what we want... increase in exercises and interoperability,” he said.

However, Malacañang said US troops can only use Clark and Subic during joint military exercises.

Speaking to reporters, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said US warships will only be allowed to use naval and air facilities in Subic and in Clark during drills. American ships and submarines will be allowed to make port calls for refueling and supply replenishment, he added.

Due to the US shift to expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific, more requests for port calls of US warships and aircrafts are expected, Lacierda said. (Jaime Laude with Delon Porcalla, The Philippine Star)

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