EXACT ROLE OF US FORCES IN PHILIPPINES SOUGHT. Unless the exact role of US forces can be determined, Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes would rather put their deployment in Sulu on hold.
Americans cannot engage in "offensive combat operations" on Philippine soil, Reyes told a news conference in Honolulu Tuesday after meeting with Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of US forces in the Pacific. In Manila, US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone said the United States had no intention of violating the Philippine Constitution while its forces were in the country. Before leaving for Washington to meet with US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Reyes told reporters the Philippines needs more US military help to quell Muslim extremists in parts of Mindanao, but said any operation would be Philippine-led and US-supported.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis acknowledged that discussions were continuing but indicated Monday that the exercises were ready to proceed. Reyes insisted that terms of US involvement had yet to be worked out. "That's what we will discuss (with Rumsfeld)," he said. On the Philippine side, he said, three criteria must be met: No offensive combat role for US troops, the Americans acting in a supporting role led by Filipinos, and no actions that violate Philippine law. On the American side, he said, there are concerns over force protection and the right US soldiers have to defend themselves.
Meanwhile, two senators urged the President to immediately suspend the holding of the exercises and stop the deployment of American forces in Sulu. Sen. Francis Pangilinan said the United States will only use the military exercises to promote its war agenda in the Middle East. "It sends the wrong signal given the ongoing worldwide opposition to war. This doesn't serve Philippine interests," Pangilinan said. Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the President should ask Reyes to stop the plan to deploy American troops to Sulu. At a peace forum at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos, Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. said the Philippines should not act as America's lackeys.
Source: Philippines Daily Inquirer, 26 February 2003
US Troops 'Digging their Own Graves'in Sulu. Muslim political leaders warned American soldiers joining combat operations in Sulu that they would be digging their own graves.
"It's like committing suicide, given the historical background of Sulu against the US colonization way back in (the) 1900s," Sulu Congressman Hussein Amin told the Inquirer. Gov. Parouk Hussin of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao shared the same view, saying the people of Sulu "have not forgotten their horrible experience" under the American soldiers.
In 1906, American soldiers led by Gen. Leonard Wood killed over a thousand Tausugs (a Muslim ethnic group predominant in Sulu) in Bud Dahu in Patikul, Sulu. Amin said many Suluanos were "excited" about the arrival of the US soldiers because "for them, it's their chance to avenge their forefathers who were victims of the Americans' abuses in the past." Amin and Hussin said that if the national government insisted on pushing through with the joint combat operations, US and Filipino forces would not only face the Abu Sayyaf but also the descendants of those killed in the 1906 massacre.
The warnings of the Muslim leaders, who said they were not consulted by Malacanang, came after the White House confirmed reports that US troops would fight the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu.
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer, 24 February 2003
REYES, RUMSFELD TO TACKLE SULU TERMS. Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes flew to Washington yesterday for talks with his US counterpart Donald Rumsfeld on possible new terms of reference (TOR) that would govern the planned Balikatan 03-1 in Sulu, with "very clear" instructions from President Arroyo that they should not violate the Constitution.
In Malacanang, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the United States has no intention of violating the Constitution and insisting on combat roles for US troops participating in the military exercise. Bunye ruled out participation of US forces in combat, noting foreign combatants were barred by the Constitution from fighting on Philippine soil. For his part, Reyes emphasized that he was given specific instructions by the President to abide by the Constitution in crafting the TOR for Balikatan 03-1 in Sulu. The terms for the Sulu exercise would be similar to the TOR for the maneuvers last year on nearby Basilan island, he said.
US Special Forces trained and advised Filipinos fighting rebels on Basilan. Filipinos did the fighting and the Americans were allowed only to fire in self-defense, he added. Reyes headed a four-man mission yesterday for the US via Honolulu to talk with Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander-in-chief of the Pacific Command before proceeding to Washington for a weeklong visit. Reyes was invited by Rumsfeld to discuss bilateral defense and security issues of mutual interest to both countries, "including regional and international security matters, particularly on the terrorist front."
Reyes made his pre-departure statement in the wake of criticisms over Balikatan 03-1 triggered by reports quoting US defense officials that some 1,700 special forces are being sent to Sulu for a combat mission against the Abu Sayyaf. When asked by reporters to comment about the US report, Reyes replied by stressing this year's joint military exercise would be the same as in Basilan last year. He said that the military exercise in Sulu will also focus on civic and humanitarian assistance.
Mrs. Arroyo last week approved the sending of US troops in Sulu, a known Abu Sayyaf stronghold. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said on Friday in Washington that some 1,750 US troops "will assist" Filipino soldiers in hunting down the Abu Sayyaf rebels, but referred questions over the rules of engagement to the Pentagon. US officials defended the reported escalation of involvement on Wednesday by citing the stronger links that have emerged between the Abu Sayyaf and foreign terrorist groups and the Philippine military's revised estimate of a larger guerrilla strength of 1,000 fighters.
Philippine officials, however, were quick to deny the Pentagon view and downplayed the supposed direct participation of US troops in operations against the bandit group.
Source: Philippine Star, 24 February 2003
RP-US BAYANIHAN OPENS IN ZAMBOANGA. Philippine and US forces officially opened yesterday "Bayanihan" military exercises here, a 10-month counter-terrorism program aimed at crushing the Abu Sayyaf group which has been linked to global terrorism.
"The terrorists are still on the loose, breaking dreams of people who aspire for peace and freedom, " Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom) chief Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya told a batch of 120 Filipino troops and an advance party of US soldiers during the opening ceremonies at the heavily secured camp in Barangay Malagutay.
US troops are to train 12 "light infantry battalions" of about 6,000 Filipino soldiers in intelligence gathering and counter-terrorism tactics against the Abu Sayyaf, wanted for kidnap-for-ransom and murder of dozens of locals and foreigners in the last three years. Col. Douglas Lengenfelder, commander of the US Joint Operations Task Force here said several companies will also be trained to conduct "sustained counter terrorist capability to execute precision operations." Lengenfelder said the training, part of the $25-million long-term security assistance of the US government to the Philippines, will start today in Malagutay on the outskirts of the city. Lengenfelder said the exercises will also involve training in close quarter combat and maneuver of light battalions.
The training will be held in the 38-hectare military camp, which is located three kilometers west of Southcom headquarters dotted with rolling hills. A senior Filipino military official disclosed that the training will also be held in the forested mountain complex in Anuling, 30 kilometers west of this city and in Basilan for live fire exercises.
Source: Philippine Star, 24 February 2003
WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS US COMBAT VS ABU SAYYAF. The White House confirmed Friday that US troops would take part in operations against the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu, but said the Philippine military would take the lead.
White House spokesperson Ari Fleischer said: "The Armed Forces of the Philippines will conduct operations supported by United States troops against the Abu Sayyaf Group. The Armed Forces of the Philippines has the lead and US forces will assist them." Fleischer said the Philippine government had requested the US troops. He declined to discuss the number of soldiers to be deployed and did not say whether they would engage in combat, as unnamed Pentagon officials specified Thursday in reports carried by the US media including the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and wire agencies.
Fleischer took issue with US-based critics who had argued that the Abu Sayyaf was just a ragtag group of bandits and did not merit being drawn into the US anti-terror campaign. According to a Pentagon official quoted, US special operations troops will join Filipino soldiers in combat "to disrupt and defeat the Abu Sayyaf."
In its editorial of Feb. 22, the Washington Post questioned the Pentagon's "casual" announcement that "it intends to dispatch 1,700 Special Forces and Marines for a combat mission against Muslim guerrillas in a remote and hostile corner of the Philippines."
Source: Philippines Daily Inquirer, 23 February 2003
12 US GREEN BERETS ARRIVE FROM OKINAWA. An advance team of 12 US Green Berets arrived in Zamboanga City Thursday for a new counter-terrorism training exercise with Filipino troops next week.
They are the first batch of a 70-member contingent that will train several light infantry battalions from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and give lessons to its officers. They will remain in the Philippines for up to 10 months, said Maj. John Amberg, a spokesperson for the US troops in the South.
The Green Berets arrived from Okinawa on a US Air Force C-17 military cargo plane and boarded vans for a ride to Camp Gen. Arturo Enrile in Malagutay, in a convoy trailed by an armored personnel carrier. They will join 12 other advisers already in this city preparing for the start of exercises next week, Filipino military officials said. About 60 more US Special Forces are set to arrive in the coming days.
In General Santos City, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Dionisio Santiago said Wednesday that US soldiers taking part in the Balikatan 03-1 exercise in Sulu would be sent on test missions against the Abu Sayyaf. But Santiago immediately clarified that this did not mean the US soldiers would be allowed to engage in a shooting war with the bandits. "They will just retaliate when fired upon by the bandits," he said.
Source: Philippines Daily Inquirer, 21 February 2003
NEW TERMS FOR BALIKATAN 03-1 NEEDED. New terms of reference (TOR) would have to be drafted for the upcoming Balikatan 03-1 war exercises in Sulu, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said yesterday after unnamed US officials pushed the suggestion that US troops be allowed to battle Abu Sayyaf terrorists now holed up on the island.
Bunye said the new TOR would reiterate the same provisions under last year's Balikatan 02-1 disallowing American troops from actively participating in combat operations. President Arroyo herself told Palace reporters that the same TOR would be applied to this year's Balikatan exercises to be held in Sulu.
Undersecretary Amado Valdez, executive director of the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFACom), said the choice of Sulu as the site of Balikatan 03-1, which is tentatively set to start April 28, was in answer to the clamor of Sulu mayors and was not meant to bait the Abu Sayyaf into attacking the US soldiers. Valdez clarified that Balikatan 03-1 could also be held in Bicol, Cagayan or Ilocos and that both countries are now holding talks to determine if it could be held in any of these places.
US officials have said that they have new information showing a stronger link between the rebels and other international terrorist groups. Reyes is also scheduled to leave for Honolulu and Washington next week to meet with US military and defense officials to fine-tune the details of the supposed deployment. Reyes said that among the issues to be threshed out are the duration of the war games, the number of troops to be involved and their specific activities.
Source: Philippine Star, 21 February 2003
SENATOR SAYS US TROOPS IN JOLO 'PROVOCATIVE'. Warnings were raised Tuesday that the planned deployment of US soldiers in Sulu under Balikatan 03-1 would provoke more tension in a province already wracked by poverty and violence.
Sen. Manuel Villar, chair of the Senate's legislative oversight committee on the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement, said that while he saw the rationale behind the choice of Sulu as the venue for the joint military exercise, he was wary that its timing might raise tensions in the predominantly Muslim region in the context of US plans for an attack on Iraq. Maradeka, an alliance of Muslim organizations advocating peace and democracy, said: "This is an act of war on the people of Sulu. They were never consulted on this." Jolo Vice Mayor Delma Ynawat said the US troops "must justify their purpose in coming here."
But in Malacanang, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's spokesperson Ignacio Bunye insisted that Balikatan 03-1 -- its objective being the rout of the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu -- "will exclusively be a training exercise." Still, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, a former chief of staff of the Armed Forces, expressed concern over possible armed encounters between Abu Sayyaf bandits and US soldiers accompanying Filipino troops.
In Zamboanga City, no one among the Southern Command brass was willing to talk about the military exercise that will allegedly start in August.
Source: Philippines Daily Inquirer, 19 February 2003
RP, US SET TALKS FOR DEPLOYMENT OF US COMMANDOS IN SULU. Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes will discuss this month with US officials the possibility of American troops training the Philippine military on battling the Abu Sayyaf, Philippine and US officials said.
Both Manila and Washington are studying the possibility of deploying US special forces in Jolo, Sulu where they might be exposed to greater risk of clashes with the Islamic kidnap gang. Upon the invitation of the US government, Reyes will leave for Honolulu, Hawaii on Feb. 23 to discuss the matter with Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of US forces in the Pacific region, the officials said. On Feb. 28 he will take up the subject with his US counterpart Donald Rumsfeld in Washington.
The possible deployment in Jolo is being studied carefully because of a ban by the Philippine Constitution on foreign troops fighting on local soil and because of different military conditions there. Because of Jolo's distance from major Philippine military bases and its difficult terrain, US troops might have greater chances of clashing with the al-Qaeda-linked gunmen.
Officials said an additional 100 US soldiers are to arrive late this month for joint counter-terrorism exercises with Philippine troops.
Source: Philippine Star, 17 February 2003
MORE WAR GAMES BETWEEN RP, US IN THE WORKS. "More numerous" war games between the Philippines and the United States are in the works, according to the executive director of the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFACom).
Foreign Undersecretary Amado Valdez said Wednesday that at least 11 small-scale military exercises would be held this year in Luzon, and that several planned big exercises were due for approval. First off is the month-long Balance Piston exercise set to start on Jan. 27 in Clark and Bulacan with 272 Americans and 221 Filipinos participating, he said. Valdez said more war games were being scheduled because the Philippine and US armed forces had seen the need for more joint activities as "follow-up of previous exercises."
In Olongapo City, members of an Amerasian group have renewed opposition to the arrival of US troops in Mindanao for the Balance Piston 03-5 exercise this month. According to Marissa Navidad, coordinator of the National League of Amerasians (NLA), the US troops will again give life to prostitution in the country.
Source: Philippines Daily Inquirer, 24 January 2003
272 US SOLDIERS ARRIVING AT CLARK. At least 272 US soldiers are expected to arrive for war games to be held in Clark Air Base and parts of Bulacan starting Monday. Joining the Americans in the "Balance Piston" military exercises are 221 Filipino soldiers.
The next Balance Piston air and land exercises are slated for June, while eight other war games would be mostly naval exercises known as Cooperation Afloat and Readiness Alert Training (CARAT).
Amado Valdez, executive director of the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFACom), said the Philippine government expects the US Congress to consider US military assistance as a moral obligation and not a matter of charity. Valdez said military personnel are being trained to help the VFACom monitor the coming joint military exercises.
Valdez did not say whether the US would redirect military exercises from Japan to the Philippines, saying that the number of US troops arriving for each exercise would be "smaller" that those in previous years.
Source: Philippine Star, 24 January 2003
US LOOKING FOR MORE ALTERNATIVE TRAINING SITES IN RP. US forces in Asia are looking for possible alternative training sites in the Philippines amid growing restrictions on the American military in Japan, a top Filipino general said yesterday.
"I understand in my talks with the Americans that their world, in a sense, is getting smaller everyday," said Brig. Gen. Emmanuel Teodosio, deputy chief of staff for education and training. He said Japan, which hosts tens of thousands of US troops, has imposed a law wherein the American soldiers could only train "in a small area." He said the Americans also faced the same problems "in Hawaii and in Thailand" where they also conduct military exercises.
Source: Philippine Star, 22 January 2003
200 US TROOPS DUE FOR BAYANIHAN. More than 200 US Special Forces will be deployed to Zamboanga in the coming weeks to train Filipino troops in antiterror operations, an American general said here Saturday.
Brig. Gen. Donald Wurster, commander of the Hawaii-based Special Operations Command, Pacific, said the soldiers would be bringing in night vision equipment and radio communications to train local forces in such areas as night-flying. Wurster, also told reporters that the "long term security assistance program" dubbed Balikatan Exercise 02-1 (shoulder-to-shoulder) will now be called Bayanihan (helping-hand).
Wurster said the American soldiers would be arriving in batches with about 45 due to come in soon although the exact date was not revealed as part of security precautions. The training operations will focus on forming light reaction units for pursuing Muslim rebel groups such as the Abu Sayyaf kidnapping band. The expected 200 US military advisers will train at least three light infantry battalions or 16 Army and Marine companies in Camp Malagutay in this city.
Philippines Daily Inquirer, 19 January 2003
LONGER RP-US WAR GAMES SEEN. The joint RP-US military training exercise this year will be longer and may last the whole year, according to Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes.
Reyes, who arrived in Zamboanga City to inspect the facilities and the site for the military training, said the exercise could last the entire year, citing the larger number of troops – around 3,000 soldiers – involved in the training. The joint exercise will start in February.
Reyes said the exercise will involve the training of two more Light Reaction Companies (LRC) and four Light Infantry Battalions (LIB). Air Force personnel will be trained on flying helicopters at night. There will also be training in intelligence operations and special courses for enlisted personnel.
The training and equipping of the two additional LRCs will be held at Fort Magsaysay in Laur, Nueva Ecija while night flying of helicopters will be held in Mactan, Cebu. The four battalions will undergo direct training on anti-terrorism in Zamboanga City. Reyes said the training for the battalions will start by February, the LRCs by March, and night flying by midyear.
The four battalions, numbering about 2,000 soldiers, will be partially equipped by its 300 US military training staff. The equipment and training are covered by the $25-million security assistance package of the US government.
Source: Philippine Star, 13 January 2003
US TROOPS ARRIVING THIS MONTH FOR EXERCISES. The US government's massive military buildup in the Middle East, in preparation for a likely war with Iraq, will not affect the antiterrorism training that American soldiers will conduct for Filipino soldiers here next month.
The highest-ranking Armed Forces officer in Mindanao, Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya, said that the training program would go on as scheduled. Abaya said the training exercises, which would cost the US military about $30 million, would involve two Light Reaction Companies, four Light Infantry Battalions and a number of Air Force helicopter pilots.
He said US troops conducting the training would number 200 to 300 and would include servicemen from the Green Berets, the US Navy and the US Army. The US soldiers start arriving this month, but Abaya did not give particular dates.
Source: Philippines Daily Inquirer, 6 January 2003