Filipino scientists raise nuclear weapons alarm vs EDCA in 69th year of Nagasaki, Hiroshima bombings

From InterAksyon (Aug 10): Filipino scientists raise nuclear weapons alarm vs EDCA in 69th year of Nagasaki, Hiroshima bombings

The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the Philippines and the United States brings the threat of nuclear weapons in the country, Filipino scientists said in a statement marking the 69th anniversary of the atomic bombings of the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan.

Agham, or Advocates of Science and Technology for the People, said “the devastation that the twin bombings caused Japan and the horrors it showed the world is a constant reminder to all nations of the dangers of nuclear proliferation and US wars of aggression.”

“Filipinos are constantly exposed to nuclear threats so long as US bases and military exercises are allowed in the country through EDCA,” it added.

On August 6, 1945, US B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped a single uranium-core atomic bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” over the city of Hiroshima, detonating 580 meters near the city’s center.

Three days after, on August 9, 1945, a second atomic weapon, “Fat Man,” equipped with a plutonium core, destroyed Nagasaki.

About 200,000 people were killed in the twin attacks.

On April 28, 2014, the Philippines and US signed EDCA, which grants “unimpeded access,” and “operational control” over agreed locations to US forces and contractors.

“Through the pact, the Philippine government has facilitated the entry of nuclear weapons and wastes,” Agham said.

The Filipino scientists noted that the US has the most number of nuclear weapons and nuclear-powered military vehicles in the world. Citing the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, they said the US has an estimated 7,400 intact nuclear warheads in 2014. Of this, 4,650 nuclear warheads are available for delivery by more than 800 ballistic missiles and aircraft.

“As part of the US rebalancing of its forces to the Pacific in 2012, six of the eleven nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the US are deployed in the area together with 60 percent of their submarines. All the US aircraft carriers and submarines in the Pacific Fleet are nuclear-powered. These have been allowed to dock, refuel, and be serviced in Philippine waters,” the Agham scientists said.

They noted that while the Department of Affairs claim that the materials the US military may bring into the country “shall not include nuclear weapons,” there was no clear mention of a mechanism or sanction of how to ensure strict compliance to this provision and other environmental codes or how the Philippine government would monitor actual entry of personnel, vehicles, materiel and equipment the country.

The scientists also said that historically, US have prepositioned nuclear weapons during the Marcos dictatorship as revealed in the US military memo declassified in 2006 but until now, no accounting has been made of the amount and nature of weapons, its impacts and even its disposal.

“Through EDCA, the US has access to possible dumping ground of nuclear and military weapons and wastes in any 'agreed locations'. The PH government has opened the country to be a platform for US aggression in this part of the world. The only way to prevent this is to scrap the unfair deal that endangers our communities, environment, and sovereignty,” Agham said.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/92999/filipino-scientists-raise-nuclear-weapons-alarm-vs-edca-in-69th-year-of-nagasaki-hiroshima-bombings