PH-Japan naval drills not unconstitutional, says AFP

THE Armed Forces Philippines on Thursday disputed a partylist lawmaker who said that the ongoing naval drills between the Philippines and Japan in Palawan near the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) are unconstitutional and a violation of Philippine sovereignty.

“The training was properly coordinated with the General Headquarters, Department of National Defense and covered by our existing Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation and Exchanges signed on January this year,” said AFP spokesperson Brigadier General Joselito Kakilala.

ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio previously slammed the naval exercises because it lacked Senate-ratified treaty with Japan.

He said the memorandum signed by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and his Japanese counterpart in January did not fulfill the constitutional requirement of a Senate-ratified treaty.

Tinio said the presence of foreign military forces in the Philippine territory is prohibited unless authorized by a treaty ratified by the Senate.

He also cited the use of surveillance plane P3-C Orion and its flight over the Recto Bank (Reed Bank) in the disputed West Philippine Sea.

But Kakilala said the activity is only for “training” purposes.

“The activity of the Philippine Navy and the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force is a maritime activity. This is a customary navy-to-navy event that we accord to every visiting navy….With respect to the JMSDF, the Philippine Navy took advantage of its visit as an opportunity to learn best practices and Techniques Tactics and Procedures from them in humanitarian assistance and disaster response and search and rescue,”  he said.

The use of Japan’s surveillance plane is covered with proper diplomatic clearance, he added.

The Philippines and Japan agreed to talks of a visiting forces agreement during President Benigno Aquino III’s visit to Tokyo early this month.

The proposed VFA, however, may take several years to complete, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said in a public forum on Thursday.