| Amb. Harry Thomas Jr. AFP PHOTO |
United States Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. on Sunday said that the US government has no plans of putting up military bases here even amid President Barack Obama administration’s Pacific Rim policy, which refocuses US engagement in the Asia Pacific region.
At the sidelines of the annual commemoration of Veterans’ Day at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Taguig City, Thomas said that the US and the Philippine governments have made no plans to revive the US military bases even though there have been a significant number of exercises done in the past.
He said that the US military will continue giving extensive trainings to Philippine military personnel.
“No, we don’t want bases [in the Philippines]. We never asked for [the return of the] bases,” Thomas said.
“We do a lot of training with the Philippine [military], especially in terms of humanitarian assistance, which is our number one priority,” he added.
Analysts have predicted that the US government will soon put up military bases in the Philippines, its treaty ally, especially after President Barack Obama announced Washington’s re-pivot to the Asia Pacific region.
The US government, lately, has increased its military presence in Singapore and Australia.
The Philippine Senate in 1991 voted to shut down US military bases in Clark and Subic. The last American forces left in 1992 after former president Corazon “Cory” Aquino ordered their withdrawal because the US government refused to give details of their withdrawal plans and answer whether there were nuclear weapons kept in the base.
But even with the withdrawal of the US military personnel, the Visiting Forces Agreement, a bilateral agreement between the US and the Philippines, became effective in 1999.
The treaty was deemed unconstitutional by some critics because it allows the US government to retain jurisdiction of their personnel.
It also exempts the US military from visa and passport regulations in the country.
Since its signing, some 600 US troops have been deployed to the Philippines to assist in the fight against insurgency.
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