PH, US deny reports on troops in Mindanao

From the Manila Bulletin (Nov 25): PH, US deny reports on troops in Mindanao

Philippine and United States (US) authorities denied reports that there are 6,000 American service members stationed in Mindanao, more than the current US military deployment in Iraq.

“The statement that there are up to 6,000 US service members stationed in Mindanao is simply not accurate,” US embassy spokesman Kurt Hoyer said.

According to the embassy spokesman, US troops have been rotating through Mindanao, with permission of the Philippine government for 12 years, referring to American forces temporarily deployed in Mindanao under the Joint Special Operations Task Force – Philippines (JSOTF-P).

He stressed, however, that “they have averaged fewer than 500 at any given time."

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc also dismissed the reports calling them “rumors”.

“There is no truth to the rumors that there are 6,000 US personnel there right now,” Cabunoc emphasized.

Instead, he said, there is a troop rotation of about 400-500 American personnel annually, as agreed by both Philippines and the US.

JSOTF-P was established following the 9/11 terror attacks. Since 2002, US military have been deployed to southern Philippines to help counter the threats posed by the local terrorist Abu Sayyaf and the Southeast Asian regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah, both affiliated with the Al Qaeda network.

The US forces, however, are “in a strictly non-combat role to advise and assist the AFP, share information, and to conduct joint civil-military operations.”

The JSOTF-P headquarters is located at Camp Navarro in Zamboanga City, home of the military’s Western Mindanao Command. It also has three subordinate regional task forces which operate throughout Mindanao alongside the AFP.

In June this year, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the US has downsized its forces in Mindanao. From about 500 officers and men, Gazmin said the number of JSOTF-P personnel is now down to about 200.

Cabunoc, meanwhile, stressed that “the US and Philippine military maintains a robust relationship based on mutual trust. Through the years, the AFP has benefitted from the Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE) program that is continuously implemented here.”

http://www.mb.com.ph/ph-us-deny-reports-on-troops-in-mindanao/