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| Philippines ratifies Australia military pact | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 25 2012, 09:06 AM (741 Views) | |
| arvcab | Jul 25 2012, 09:06 AM Post #1 |
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http://ph.news.yahoo.com/philippines-ratifies-australia-military-pact-170733081.html The Philippine Senate ratified a sensitive military pact with Australia Tuesday that lays out rules for visiting troops, in a move politicians said would improve regional security. The agreement was first signed in 2007 but remained in legislative limbo amid political sensitivities, as the country's constitution explicitly bans the long-term stationing of foreign forces on its territory. Its endorsement by the Senate five years on is seen by some observers as a bid to get Australia's backing in Manila's row with China over South China Sea islands. Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile said the body passed a resolution endorsing the treaty 17-1 with no abstentions, putting it into force after a four-year debate in the Philippines. "Concurrence with the ratification... will not only pave the way for us to improve our defence mechanisms, it will also solidify our decades-old relationship with Australia," he said in a press release. President Benigno Aquino's spokesman Edwin Lacierda hailed the senate vote. "The Senate... has taken an important step in enhancing our national and regional security by ratifying the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement between Australia and the Philippines," he said in a statement. The two countries had earlier signed a preliminary agreement on defence and military cooperation in 1995. The latest pact would, among other things, subject visiting soldiers to the jurisdiction of the host country should they commit acts that are illegal in the host country but not in the sending country. The Philippines signed a similar pact in 1998 with its traditional military ally the United States. Under the pact small numbers of US military advisers have been deployed in the southern Philippines for the past decade to help train Philippine forces fighting Islamic militants. The lone holdout against Tuesday's signing, Senator Joker Arroyo, accused the government of putting pressure on the senators to ratify the pact to get Australian backing in Manila's ongoing row with China over the resource-rich Scarborough Shoal. "Although the agreement is not a defence pact, its symbolism cannot be lost on China. Let us not grab at straws," Arroyo said in a statement after the vote. |
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| xerd | Jul 25 2012, 09:45 AM Post #2 |
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the senate ratified it, coz' they knew that china in a short time can build a military post with in our territory and we are in dire need of help from our old allies to help or support us in wps while we are waiting for our new military equipment. hopefully, the aussies give us some of their excess military hardware or sell it in a low price. |
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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win Mahatma Gandhi im waiting for u! | |
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| Santi Kampilan | Jul 25 2012, 10:14 AM Post #3 |
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Now that the Sovfa as been approved by the Senate, if the Australians ask the AFP what their needs are they can ask for the Adelaide-class OHP that we get the first crack at buying it as a favor. The Hobart's are being phased in and the Adelaide's redundancy makes it susceptible to decommissioning. For all you know they may give it for a song. Those Adelaides are one of the most powerful frigates in the world and will provide the backbone of our AAW frigates. Those Chicom Sukhoi's will have second thoughts in venturing in our EEZ.
Edited by Santi Kampilan, Jul 25 2012, 10:19 AM.
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| Parastriker | Jul 25 2012, 06:49 PM Post #4 |
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Well, this escalated quickly. That's very surprising. |
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Success through information, victory through disinformation. "Good leaders make efficient followers. Great leaders make good followers. But true leaders make leaders out of mere followers." "Measuring the intelligence of a common internet user is as easy as looking at his/her grammar." | |
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| Santi Kampilan | Jul 26 2012, 01:55 AM Post #5 |
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SOVFA approval is a big strategic boost for the Australians. They can now put their assets (i.e. upcoming new carrier, Hobarts, F-35's) for an extended period of time within striking distance of China. They are leery of China's ultimate goal of occupying everything to the East up to the Philippine Sea short of Guam and Northern Marianas. Actually the Chicoms have already begun. Palau is warding off Chicom fishermen encroaching their EEZ 2,000 km from us at that. One of US carrier battle group is busy doing police duties to keep those poachers away. They are like gnats swarming all over the Pacific. On the contrary what benefit do we get from this? We got the Americans down in Zamboanga for the last 11 years now teaching us in various tactics. Maybe the Australians can share more of their technology and different methodology. On the economic front, they should open up to our fruits and other agricultural products. Maybe this agreement will bring us closer and they will slowly open up that market. I think we should demand for those. Including preferential purchases (not beg for free) of excess defense materials. Edited by Santi Kampilan, Jul 26 2012, 02:08 AM.
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2:46 PM Jul 13