From the Philppine News Agency (Mar 24):
7th round of PHL-US EDC talks opens at Camp Aguinaldo
The seventh round of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation (EDC) Agreement
between the Philippines and
the United States formally
started Monday morning with the two countries' panel members meeting at the
Department of National Defense (DND) main building in Camp
Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
"We welcome Ambassador Eric John and General Joaquin Malade to the warm
weather of
Manila.
We hope that you will find this as a welcome respite to the never-ending winter
of
Washington, D.C.," Philippine panel head DND Undersecretary
Pio Lorenzo Batino said in his opening statement.
"As we begin what is now the 7th round of negotiations, this may be a
good time to recollect why we are meeting here today. We recall that under the
Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), our countries are bound to separately and jointly,
by self help and mutual aid, maintain and develop our individual and collective
defense capabilities," he added.
Batino also emphasized that over the past 60 years, this partnership has
evolved.
"And we are challenged to continue to find ways to ensure our alliance
remains responsive to the changing regional security environment," he
said.
"And due to this development, the
Philippines needs to find a new
model for our security engagement," Batino pointed out.
"Thus, we are mindful of the need to make adjustments in the
implementation of the MDT to ensure that our constitutional requirements are
fully observed," he stressed.
"We also understand the changes that have taken place in the
US, as you seek to re-balance to
Asia within the constraints of a new fiscal
environment," Batino said.
The Philippine panel head also stressed that the agreement reaffirms the two
nations commitment to the enduring alliance.
"As we seek to build a minimum credible defense posture, we are
leveraging our long history of partnership to meet both traditional and
emerging challenges, and extend our areas of cooperation to new grounds, like
humanitarian assistance and disaster relief," Batino stressed.
The DND official stated that the Philippine side expects that "this
agreement will not just bolster our collective security, but will also add
another dimension to our economic interaction."
"We hope to make significant progress at this round, not because of any
perceived deadline, but because it is in our mutual interest to do so," he
added.
"We look forward to productive discussions in the next few days, in the
spirit of equality and common respect, a genuine interest to promote mutuality
of benefits and support each other’s goals, and jointly contribute to the peace
and stability of our region," Batino said.
As this developed, Ambassador John said that the guiding principle of the
negotiations is to enhance the effectiveness of the agreement through the MDT.
"And I think that we’ve seen over the last many decades the
effectiveness of the MDT but an agreement like this also proves the vibrancy of
the MDT. It’s something that can be strengthened through further implementing
steps that we’re taking here with this agreement," he added.
John also said that from the outset of this was the respect for the
sovereignty of the
Philippines.
"We hope to work with the Philippine side through this agreement on
achieving minimum credible defense and strengthen the capacity of the
Philippine defense forces," the
US ambassador stated.
The 7th round of talks followed the sixth one held earlier this month in
Washington, D.C.
In the sixth round of negotiations, both panels went through the entire
draft agreement and reached consensus on many provisions, including on the
proposed accord’s preamble, purpose and scope, definition of terms, ownership
of constructed infrastructure, coordination on security, contracting
procedures, and resolution of disputes.
The agreed minutes of the sixth round described the discussions as
“substantive and productive.”
The other members of the Philippine negotiating panel are Ambassador Lourdes
Yparraguirre, Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya, Justice Undersecretary Francisco
Baraan III and DND Assistant Secretary for Strategic Assessments Raymund Jose
Quilop.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=628568