VFA ( visiting forces agreement)

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VFA ( visiting forces agreement); updates news and exercise
Tweet Topic Started: Jan 13 2012, 07:30 AM (809 Views)
THE_NEWS_MAN	Jan 13 2012, 07:30 AM Post #1
Member Posts: 677 Group: Regulars Member #7,185 Joined: November 21, 2011	Philippines to press VFA review; US lukewarm Philippine Daily Inquirer 12:07 am \| Friday, January 13th, 2012 The Philippines is set to take up the controversial 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, according to Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario. Contacted in Siem Reap, Cambodia, where he is attending an Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers meeting, Del Rosario on Thursday said “VFA talks (with the US) are a priority for the Department of Foreign Affairs.” “We will try to have a commission (that will hold consultations with Washington) as early as possible,” the DFA chief told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin are co-vice chairs of the Presidential Commission on the VFA (PCVFA), which is headed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. The agency’s members include, among others, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman and a private sector representative. Lead agency At the home office, Raul Hernandez, the DFA spokesperson, revealed the PCVFA “recently came out with a resolution designating the DFA to take the lead in undertaking discussions with the US on issues of mutual concern related to the VFA.” “The designation of the DFA as the lead agency and related actions to implement the decisions made by the PCVFA are part of the steps leading to the conclusion of the review,” said Hernandez. The DFA-based PCVFA, created on Jan. 1, 1999, under Executive Order No. 199 to monitor compliance with the provisions of the VFA, began reviewing the pact in late 2010. PCVFA Executive Director Edilberto Adan earlier told the Inquirer the review aimed to “look at the most contentious issues and ensure the (VFA) provisions continue to make this agreement relevant and serve the national interest.” whole story will be below there kinda long hate to take up the whole space here whole story (CLICK HERE)



THE_NEWS_MAN	Jan 17 2012, 05:28 AM Post #2
Member Posts: 677 Group: Regulars Member #7,185 Joined: November 21, 2011	McCain, other US senators in Manila for talks By Jerry E. Esplanada Four US senators, led by former Republican Party presidential candidate John McCain, are scheduled to meet with Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario on Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. Raul Hernandez, the spokesperson of the DFA, however, did not provide details on the meeting between Del Rosarion and McCain, who had met in Washington in mid-2011. Both the DFA and the US Embassy in Manila have kept mum about the schedule of the visiting American lawmakers. The US Embassy announced over the weekend that the McCain-led delegation would be in the country from Jan. 16 to 18 to “meet with government leaders, discuss cooperation and reaffirm the alliance” between the two allies. Aside from McCain, the group includes Joseph Lieberman (Connecticut), Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island) and Kelly Ayotte (New Hampshire). The visit could include a call on President Benigno Aquino III at Malacañang. US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. had told Palace reporters that the US senators “would like to have the opportunity to meet the President and his Cabinet and their counterparts.” The US delegation will hold a brief press conference at the US Embassy Tuesday afternoon, according to the US mission. During his June 21, 2011 meeting with Del Rosario in the US capital, McCain called on Washington to expand military and political support to Southeast Asian nations to stand up against China in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). ‘More unified front’ McCain said the US should help members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations like the Philippines develop and deploy an early warning system and coastal vessels in the disputed waters. The US legislator, a former US Navy captain, said Washington should also turn to diplomacy to help Asean members sort out their own disputes and “establish a more unified front.” McCain, who lost the 2008 presidential race to Barack Obama, welcomed the administration’s defense of freedom of navigation in the West Philippine Sea but said it should go further. He said the US should let other countries know “which claims the US accepts, which ones we do not, and what actions we are prepared to support,” especially in defense of the Philippines, a treaty ally. Meanwhile, the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) expressed serious concerns over the US senators’ visit. click here for the whole article



THE_NEWS_MAN	Jan 20 2012, 12:47 AM Post #3
Member Posts: 677 Group: Regulars Member #7,185 Joined: November 21, 2011	PH, US plan military drills in West Philippine Sea MANILA, Philippines - The United States and the Philippines are set to hold military drills that may anger Beijing near disputed waters in the West Philippine Sea, testing their readiness to protect offshore oil and natural gas platforms, a Marine general said on Thursday. Philippines Lieutenant-General Juancho Sabban, military commander on western island of Palawan, said it is the first time an annual exercise will be focused on protecting offshore energy platforms, adding that the drills should not anger China which also has territorial claims in the region. "Why should they be angry, this is an annual activity," he said, referring to China, one of six states claiming sovereignty over the South China Sea. The drills are to be held near the country's Malampaya gas project, owned by Chevron Malampaya LLC, a unit of the U.S. energy firm, and Shell Philippines Exploration B.V, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell. "The purpose there ... is to protect or retake any platform that are under attack by terrorists," Sabban said, adding amphibious exercises on Palawan's western coastline, facing the disputed Spratlys, are also planned. Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines also have conflicting claims over the disputed area believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas. Since 2002, U.S. army special forces have held separate training for Filipino troops fighting a group of al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants in the southern Philippines and take part in humanitarian missions in areas where militants are active. The U.S. military has also held regular military exercises with Filipino counterparts under a 1951 security treaty with its former colony. original web page



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