Yasay: PH won’t abrogate ties with US
(UPDATE) The Philippines won’t abrogate its alliances with the United States while efforts are being done to restore ties with China, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay assured on Thursday.
“The President in many occasions has said categorically that he will only have one military alliance, and our only ally in that respect is the US,” Yasay told the Senate committee on finance when he defended the proposed budget of his office next year.
Yasay reiterated President Rodrigo Duterte’s earlier pronouncements that “he respects and will continue to respect” the Mutual Defense Treaty, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca), the Visiting Forces Agreement and other executive agreements with the US.
He said the perception of a breakup between the Philippines and the US was probably brought about by the President’s earlier pronouncements that the Philippines would hold its last joint military exercises with the Americans.
READ: Duterte to scrap future war games with US
He assured that while fostering closer relationship with China, there won’t be any alliance from a military view point. “That has never been the intentions of the President,” Yasay said.
He said the President simply wanted to pursue and “revitalize” its ties with China, which he said had turned cold during the Aquino administration.
Yasay added there are some people in the media who would try to present that there’d be weakening of friendship with the US.
“This is not what the President wants and I’d like to give that assurance,” Yasay said.
“The President had also assured our traditional partners and our allies that insofar as engagements with China are concerned, they will be part of the consultations that will be made and the fact is that the President had been doing this,” the diplomat added.
Joint exercises different from joint patrols
Yasay reiterated that the holding of joint exercises is different from joint patrols.
“The joint exercises that are being conducted is not required under the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) but these are joint exercises that are decided or recommended upon by the Mutual Defense Board under the MDT and the Strategic Engagement Board where the purpose is that these joint exercises will be precisely to enhance and beef up our self-reliance in addressing as they may arise internal and external threats to the nation,” he explained.
“The President’s concern about these joint exercises is that they have not met the objectives as I have just stated and this is what he’s trying to bring across to our American friends.”
If this objective is not achieved and the Philippines continues to be dependent in addressing internal and external needs and concerns, then Yasay said these joint exercises might not serve the purpose.
“And consequently, he (Duterte) said if it will continue to be such during his administration, this will not be continued but it does not mean that because of that, stop immediately or in fact will negate or abrogate the agreements and the treaties that we have with the US,” the diplomat added. TVJ
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