Balikatan could spoil peace talks, says militant group

AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—With the 30th edition of the Balikatan exercises to begin on May 5, one militant group warned President Benigno Aquino III that the military drills could hamper the peace negotiations between them and the Philippine government.

In a statement, Randall Echanis and Rafael Baylosis of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines said that once the joint military exercises of almost 5,500 Filipino and American troops and the approval of the Agreement on Enhanced Defense Cooperation come into being, peace talks between the government and their group could turn to rubble.

Bicol would be the venue of the first phase of the Balikatan.

“Holding the Balikatan exercises in the Bicol region and the highly predicted signing of the Philippines—United States military access agreement in time for the visit of US President Barack Obama next week would not only spoil the resumption of peace talks,” Echanis and Baylosis said in a joint statement.

“In fact, this extreme puppetry of the Aquino government to Washington DC could lead to eventual collapse of the talks.”

Echanis and Baylosis added that the Balikatan and the AEDC are detrimental to both Philippine sovereignty and the “collective interest of the Filipino people.”

“One of the fundamentals of successful peace negotiations is the atmosphere and exercise of national sovereignty,” the two said. “Without national sovereignty, the peace talks will always be in danger or in the brink of collapse.”

Also, the two accused the Aquino administration of being lackadaisical with the peace talks with the communist group.

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