300 GIs in Cebu for rest, recreation
Around 300 US Navy personnel from the US warship anchored off the seawaters of Talisay City will be in Cebu for some rest and recreation.
Lt. Col. Christopher Tampus, Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command (Centcom) spokesman, reiterated earlier assurances of Naval Forces Central Visayas (Navfocen) that the USS Chafee (DDG-90) was only here for a routine ship replenishment and refueling.
Tampus also said that the US soldiers would only go out in the city for their “crew liberty” during the day, but they would return to their ship during the night.
According to earlier reports, the ship will stay until Feb. 1.
Tampus assured that there’s no scheduled tactical operation or exercise with foreign soldiers especially with the US Navy personnel.
He said the Balikatan exercises had yet to resume and this will happen a couple of months away.
A militant group criticized on Sunday the arrival in the country of the USS Chafee, a 2nd Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, and another guided destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (docked in Manila), as part of the new US defense strategy of projecting US power in Asia.
The US and the Philippines in a joint statement on Friday agreed to increase cooperation in areas including maritime security, defense, commerce and disaster relief.
Both sides have been at pains to say reestablishing the kind of permanent American base that was closed in the Philippines 20 years ago is not on the cards. But in Manila, Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario said in a statement the Philippines was considering more joint military exercises with the U.S. and “a rotating and more frequent presence by them.” Correspondent Chito O. Aragon with AP report
