Fort Magsaysay can accommodate visiting US forces -- NOLCOM chief

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 2): Fort Magsaysay can accommodate visiting US forces -- NOLCOM chief

Northern Luzon Command head, Lt. Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, said that Fort Magsaysay, the largest military reservation and facility under his command, can be made available to American forces once the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDC) is finalized.

"We can make available Fort Magsaysay (in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija) for them once the (EDC) is finalized," he said in Filipino.

He added that the 45,000 hectares base, the largest military facility in the Philippines, is more than adequate to handle US troops and their equipment.

"They can adequately place their equipment there and train there," Catapang said.

He also stressed that what makes Fort Magsaysay more useful is that it is very near and accessible to Northern Luzon Command headquarters in Tarlac.

Aside from this, Fort Magsaysay is also near Dingalan Bay which is owned by the 7th Infantry Division, one of the Filipino units based in the facility.

"It's a six-kilometer beach frontage (property) and that area can be also used for naval maneuvers," Catapang stressed.

The 7th round of the EDC talks was concluded last March 27, with both Filipino and American panels claiming significant progress.

In the agreed minutes, both the Philippine and United States negotiating panels described the discussions as “open and substantive” and achieved “further progress.”

The two sides reached consensus on a number of additional provisions.

However, Defense undersecretary and Philippine panel chair Pio Lorenzo Batino did not comment on what these items are.

But he added that the negotiations were “proceeding at a deliberate pace,” noting the progress so far achieved.

“We are moving forward on many key provisions and it is crucial at this point that both sides are clear on their common understanding of these key provisions and of the thrust of the agreement,” he added.

An eighth round of negotiations is expected to be held in Department of National Defense (DND) headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo early April.

The proposed agreement will allow the sharing of defined areas within certain Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) facilities with elements of the US military on a rotational basis and within parameters consistent with the Philippine Constitution and laws.

Batino earlier underscored that with the “changing regional security environment” and changes in both sides’ internal environments, there is a need to find a “new model for our security engagement” and emphasized that the new security engagement model must fully observe our constitutional requirements.

For his part, Ambassador Eric John, United States negotiating panel chair, earlier said that he looked forward to “reaching an agreement that helps strengthen further our individual and collective defense capabilities,” even as he recognized and reaffirmed the importance of respecting Philippine sovereignty.

“The other issue we agreed on at the outset of this (negotiation) was the respect for the sovereignty of the Philippines. And that’s a message that you (the Philippine Panel) made very clear the very first round, and that’s the message all of us took back to Washington,” Ambassador John said.

“And it is in the best spirit of respect for sovereignty and respect for long-standing partnership that we entered into these negotiations,” John added.

Batino emphasized that, as in the preceding six rounds, the Philippine negotiating panel is guided by the principles of full respect for Philippine sovereignty, non-permanence of US troops and no US basing in the Philippines, mutuality of benefits and respect for the Philippine Constitution, including the prohibition against nuclear weapons.

The other members of the Philippine negotiating panel are Ambassador Lourdes Yparraguirre, Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya, Justice undersecretary Francisco Baraan III and Defense assistant secretary for strategic assessments Raymund Jose Quilop.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=631620