Secretary Austin’s visit reinvigorates US-PH relations

Forces of the Philippines, including the commander of the Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom).

He described the visit as “heartwarming” because of the enthusiastic welcome he received from the local soldiers and officials – several of whom attended U.S. military institutions for advance courses – who engaged with him. Of course, the U.S. troops stationed in Zamboanga were also elated at the visit of the former U.S. Army four-star general whose name is legendary among American soldiers, having served as commanding general of U.S. Forces in Iraq.

The courtesy call of Secretary Austin on President Marcos was very timely, and the discussions were very straightforward to a certain extent. The President expressed his deep appreciation for the continued assistance of the U.S. to the Philippines on many aspects of our bilateral relations, especially on the modernization of our armed forces.

As President Marcos himself said, “…the future of the Philippines and, for that matter, the Asia Pacific, will always have to involve the U.S. simply because those partnerships are so strong,” adding that we can only properly navigate geopolitical issues, especially in the Asia Pacific region, “with the help of our partners and our allies in the international sphere.”

Part and parcel of the entire relationship between the United States and the Philippines is our military alliance as underscored by the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). There is absolutely no doubt that the visit of Secretary Austin has reinforced all these agreements, particularly EDCA with four new locations to be added to the existing five that have been previously designated. While details have yet to be finalized, the new EDCA sites will be in very strategic locations.

As described by Greg Poling who is director for the Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Washington, DC-based thinktank Center for Strategic and International Studies, EDCA “allows U.S. forces to construct facilities at agreedupon Philippine military bases for the use of both countries… and was meant to facilitate the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the long term while allowing U.S. forces the access necessary to fulfill its alliance commitments in the short term.”

Part of the agreement threshed out during the visit of Secretary Austin is the allotment of $82 million by the U.S. for infrastructure investments at five current EDCA locations which will support economic growth and jobs generation in local communities. Discussions about additional locations have been ongoing for the past several months, and one important component would be humanitarian and disaster response (HADR), especially since the Philippines is very vulnerable to natural disasters. We have over 7,600 islands and many of these would require disaster resilience, which is really one of the main reasons why we have agreed to the EDCA as the U.S. would be able to help us develop these areas into becoming disaster resilient.

MADRID — Last month, I received an invitation from the Spanish embassy in Manila to present at this year’s Tribuna España-Filipinas (SpanishPhilippines Forum), an annual gathering that brings together top government and business officials from both nations.

In particular, I was asked to join a panel to discuss how the two countries fit into, and can maximize cooperation, amid the seismic geopolitical shifts in the Indo-Pacific region. Among my co-panelists are no less than Emilio De Miguel Calabia, Spain’s ambassador at large for the Indo-Pacific, as well as our own Ambassador Jose de Vega, among the country’s most distinguished diplomats.

Definitely, the agreement will also help us in our efforts to be more prepared to deal with natural disasters that may come our way. As we have seen for ourselves, weather-related disasters are becoming stronger and inflicting so much damage on people and property, with lives also lost in the process.

According to latest reports, the global economic losses due to natural disasters amount to over $313 billion in 2022 alone.

The 2022 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime released late in January also showed the connection between economic losses due to climate crisis and human trafficking. The report included the Philippines. (Philstar.com) * * * The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.

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