MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / July 1, 2013) – The League of Filipino Students condemned the announcement of Philippine defense officials that US military forces and its allies would be allowed access to military bases in the Philippines.
The group warned that the access agreement would only further intensify the already existing violation of national sovereignty by the US military.
“Not satisfied with just multiple offenses by port calls and military exercises in Philippine soil, the US is intent on reclaiming our country as their very own military base in the Asia-Pacific. This is an insult to the historic struggle and consequent victory of the Filipino people which evicted US bases in 1991, yet Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin sees no problem in this,” LFS spokesperson Issa Baguisi said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
Basguisi said while the Senate decision that year required the withdrawal of the US military from the country, American troops and warships have continued to operate within Philippine territory with the introduction of the Visiting Forces Agreement in 1998.
Baguisi also refuted government assertion for the need of US troops in the country in the light of territorial disputes between China and the Philippines.
He said the US’s decision to station troops in Asia was necessitated by its intention to keep an eye on and restrain China’s growing economic power, contrary to government claims that the US is to support the Philippines in its standoff with China.
Indeed, the US has already expressed neutrality on the conflict in a ministerial meeting with Philippine officials in Washington last year.
“It is deplorable how the Aquino administration has no qualms in deceiving the people it should be serving and jeopardizing their safety just to accommodate the interests of the US,” Baguisi said.
The LFS called on Filipinos to once more rise collectively to the challenge of expelling US military and influence from the country. The group maintains that the youth will not take this issue of national sovereignty sitting down, and vows to spark protest actions in response to the access agreement.
“We have done it before, and we will not hesitate to do it again. History has shown that the unity of the youth with the rest of the Filipino nation is more than enough of a motive force to effect change in the way this country is run. If the government remains bent over for the US while compromising national interests, then let the people of this country change this society into one that serves them,” Baguisi said.
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