Militant group slams PH plan to buy US arms

MANILA, Philippines—The militant fisherfolk group Pamalakaya has assailed Washington for allegedly exploiting the current tension in the Spratly group of islands in the South China Sea by compelling the Philippines to shop for excess military equipment in the US.

Pamalakaya vice chair Salvador France said on Sundaty that “the US game plan is clear. Washington will scare its puppet government in Manila about the possible outbreak of war between China and the Philippines and other Spratlys claimant-countries.”

Worse, President Benigno Aquino III has been “playing the role of mascot under the US game plan,” he claimed.

In a statement, France noted that “Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Cuisia’s announcement about the government’s plan to procure excess US defense equipment coincided with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ pronouncement in Singapore, warning the Philippines that clashes may erupt in the South China Sea unless nations with conflicting territorial claims adopt a mechanism to settle disputes peacefully.”

He alleged both Mr. Aquino and Cuisia were “taking orders from Washington on how to deal with the South China Sea problem, instead of finding ways to come up with diplomatic solutions to disputes among Spratlys claimants.”

According to the Pamalakaya leader, “the best way to resolve the Spratlys issue is to first get the US government out of the picture, engage in diplomatic discourse with China and other claimants and junk Washington’s best buy offer of excess war gears.”

Meanwhile, Renato Reyes Jr., secretary general of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said “the purchase of excess defense articles (EDA) has always been tied up with other agreements and considerations.”

“In this case, it’s the Visiting Forces Agreement. To avail of the EDA, the government will have to keep the VFA working even if it violates Philippine sovereignty. This is a classic example of our mendicant foreign policy,” Reyes also said.

Reyes pointed out “the irony here is that after five decades of being promised by the US that the Armed Forces will modernize in exchange for US bases, here is the Philippine government still trying to acquire second-hand equipment from the US. Proof that our dependence on the US has brought us nowhere,” he added.

Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino, meanwhile, urged Malacañang to “first conduct an audit of past US military aid to Manila before it starts shopping for junk American weapons.”

“The Palace should also resolve the various corruption cases involving the military,” Palatino asserted.