The US will significantly increase its military presence in the Philippines – an announcement that has angered China, whose Communist Party chief urged his military to prepare for a struggle and whose state-run media have criticized the agreement.
The US
announced in 2011 that it would increase joint training exercises and ship
visits to the Philippines
in order to counter China’s
growing influence in the region. These visits have been welcomed by Philippine
President Benigno S. Aquino III.
This month, the US
announced that it would increase the number of troops, aircraft and ships that
rotate through the Philippines.
The announcement was made during the 3rd Phillipines-United States Bilateral
Strategic Dialogue in Manila, which
was held Dec. 11-12. The two countries are expected to sign a five-year joint
US-Philippine military exercise plan in their upcoming meetings, The Diplomat
reported.
“There has been no discussion yet on specifics [of
in-country military equipment] … (these are) policy consultations and the
specifics would be determined by the technical working groups,” Lorenzo
Batino, the Philippines
deputy defense minister said at the annual dialogue.
The US
presence would likely guard against Chinese influence and try to contain the
Communist country’s rising military and economic power. China
has territorial claims across the South China Sea and
dominates relations with members of the Associations of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN), including the Philippines,
with which it has overlapping claims of the Spratly islands. For years, the US
has helped build the Philippine’s military and security forces and offered
financial assistance in exchange for greater American presence in the country.
The US
came under scrutiny in July after Human Rights Watch found that President
Aquino’s regime was using torture methods, conducting extra-judicial killings
and making “leftist activists, journalists and clergy” disappear. The US
has given almost $700 million to this regime since President Barack Obama took
office.
But the US
presence in the Philippines
is so important to the Obama administration that the Philippines
will likely receive even more financial assistance, alongside the increase in
military assistance, according to AntiWar reporter John Glaser. The US
will not, however, admit that its main intention is to maintain its hegemony in
the region.
The US
announced that its military support would be of assistance to the Philippines
after natural disasters, which occur often in the western Pacific country.
Trying to address Chinese concerns, the US
emphasized the humanitarian nature of its military presence, citing the recent
Typhoon Bopha, which killed more than 900 Philippines
last week.
But the Chinese response has not been positive. After the
announcement was made, Chinese media described the Philippines
as troublemakers seeking conflict. Using offensive language, the state-run
media sources denounced the US-Philippines agreement and referred to the
Phillipines Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario as ‘pathetic’.
Chinese Communist Party Chief Xi Jinping urged his military
to prepare for a struggle, without mentioning the potential aggressor.
“Push forward preparations for a military struggle,” he
told the People’s Liberation Army, which consists of 2.3 million servicemen.
Tensions between China
and the Philippines
have been on the rise for a while. In October, 2,600 American Marines and 1,200
marines from the Philippines
jointly began 10 days of exercises focused on disaster relief, humanitarian
assistance and maritime security. The exercises irritated China
and the Communist Party of the Philippines,
who claimed that the purpose of the US
presence was to prepare for foreign intervention.
"In collaboration with the Aquino government, the US
has been using the Philippines
as one of its military outposts in launching interventionist operations,"
the Communist Party of the Philippines
announced.
With a greater number of ships, aircraft, and troops, the US
will now have an greater establishment in southeast Asia.
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