A public policy thinktank labeled as a ‘flip-flop’ President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to suspend the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement and urged him to abide by his previous decision, especially as the country nears its 122nd Independence Day celebrations.
“Ahead of the 180-day deadline for the final termination of the VFA, the President unfortunately flip-flops from his patriotic decision to end this unequal treaty instead of continuing to pivot towards a truly independent foreign policy. Terminating the VFA could have had the same weight in history as the 1991 Senate vote expelling the US bases in the country.”
This was the statement of Terry Ridon, Infrawatch PH convenor and former lawmaker who challenged the constitutionality of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
Reject the carrots
Ridon, who was Mr. Duterte’s first urban poor chief, urged Malacanang not to be swayed by generous offers of military equipment from Washington, saying that the US has more to lose in terminating the treaty allowing expanded military exercises.
“Pro-US defense officials within the Duterte cabinet had certainly used the renewed offers for military equipment as a justification for the President to reconsider his decision. But Mr. Duterte should know that by losing the VFA, which is the effective treaty for all US military activities in the country, the US will lose a critical component of its first island chain strategy. The strategy connects its allies and bases as far as Japan in the north to Singapore in the south. Without the Philippines, its strategy is weakened. We should not allow them to buy their Indo-Pacific security strategy with military equipment alone.”
Mutual Defense Treaty, EDCA ineffective
It viagra without prescription is imperative that ED treatment should be taken with food. Since the viagra uk condition arrive him at the middle of the game. Being overweight or not generic cialis cheap physically fit can also be a contributing factor. Medicines like Kamagra and cheap viagra soft have been designed to help increase the blood flow in certain parts of the body like in the jaw joint and muscles doesn’t signal serious problems.Ridon said the cold-war era Mutual Defense Treaty will be rendered ineffective without the VFA.
“Without the VFA, there will be no operational framework for the conduct of US troops in the country. They will be vulnerable to regular diplomatic and criminal processes which had been waived by the VFA. Given a decision point between the Philippines and other countries with a more robust status of forces agreement, Washington will most certain choose to conduct war games with latter states.”
Ridon also said that without the VFA, no one will run the recently signed forward operating bases under the EDCA.
“Even if Washington installs the best surveillance equipment and war materiel in these locations, there will be no US soldier to man these bases without the VFA.”
Waste of legacy
Ridon said the President will waste his legacy as ‘foremost a patriot’ by suspending the termination.
“Instead of waiting out the 180-day deadline, the President made a 180-degree turn with the recent development. Instead of placing himself in the pantheon of patriots with Jovito Salonga and Lorenzo Tanada, what will be his foreign policy legacy?”