On Sept. 16, 1991, the Senate voted 12 to 11 to reject a new bases treaty with the United States, citing the pact as “one-sided and unequal.” The agreement would have allowed the US to keep Subic Naval Base for 10 more years in exchange for about $200 million in aid.
Over 8,000 Philippine and American troops will participate in this year’s Balikatan military exercises, which will be held from April 5 to 17.
The Philippines Sunday welcomed the removal of a US minesweeper that had been stuck on a protected coral reef for 10 weeks, but stressed that compensation must be paid for the environmental damage.
The final sections of a US Navy ship that has been stuck on a UN World Heritage-listed coral reef in the Philippines for more than 10 weeks are set to be removed within days, an official said Thursday.
The USS Guardian dismantling operation continued during the weekend in preparation for the cutting of the US Navy minesweeper’s engine room, according to the spokesperson of the Philippine Coast Guard.
Saying apologies and guarantees of “just compensation” were not enough, at least two Philippine senators are keen to hold the United States accountable for the destruction of the Tubbataha Reef following the grounding a US Navy minesweeper on the marine sanctuary nearly a month ago.
Rising from her sick bed, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago slammed on Tuesday, the United States’ “magnanimity” over its warship’s destruction of the Tubbataha Reef, saying it should be held accountable for violations of both local and international laws instead of calling it an accident and promising compensation for the priceless marine park.
The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has given the go-signal for the salvage plan of the US Navy.
Two militant groups filed a letter of complaint Tuesday urging the Department of Justice to take legal action against US Navy officers and crew members of the USS Guardian, the 63-meter long minesweeper that ran aground on the Tubbataha Reef last January 17.
The United States Navy has sent 10 American divers to assess the situation and brought in two private salvor ships to try to extricate its minesweeper that got stuck on Tubbataha Reef, a world-renowned marine sanctuary in the Sulu Sea, the Philippine Navy said on Sunday.
Malacañang is in no hurry to hold the US Navy accountable for its minesweeper that ran aground in the Tubbataha Reefs, even as a militant group has called for an inspection of the ship.
Militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) on Friday called anew for the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement as a US Navy warship ran aground in the world heritage site Tubbataha Reefs in Sulu Sea.
