US Pacific Command chief ends Philippine visit

From ABS-CBN (Aug 27): US Pacific Command chief ends Philippine visit

US Pacific Command chief Admiral Harry Harris on Thursday capped his three-day visit to the Philippines with a meeting with the commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)'s Western Command chief.

AFP WesCom is involved in military operations in the disputer areas in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

"He is an operational commander and I am also an operational commander, so it's a matter of meeting of the minds how do we do things," said AFP Western Command chief Vice Adm. Alexander Lopez, referring to his meeting with Harris.

Harris arrived at the Wescom headquarters in Puerto Princesa City around 10 a.m. Armed Forces chief Gen. Hernando Iriberri also joined the meeting.

According to Lopez, they briefed Harris on the recent developments in the disputed sea, where the Spratly Islands are located.

Earlier reports said China has turned aggressive in its claims in the area over the past years, reclaiming at least seven areas.

"They (Americans) knew it, actually he said 'we know that'," said Lopez, who believe that the US may be more knowledgeable of the developments in the area than the Philippines.

For Lopez, it is only natural for Harris to stay neutral on the issue of China's reclamation.

"They would want to be neutral. They won't take sides…They will be rooting for regional peace and stability, that's all what they want. They don't want violence to break out."

"In whatever form, they will try to be present and prevent (violence), they have plans," said Lopez.

"When we asked how will they (Americans) help, they said they will help in whatever ways," he added.

Wescom spokesperson Lt. Cherryl Tindog said they also introduced Harris to their group.

"We told them what is Wescom, what do we do, what are our peculiar challenges."

"Definitely, West Philippine Sea was part of the briefing because that is where we are busy at present…We discussed the reclamation and construction activities (by China) at the West Philippine Sea because that is our biggest concern, and what we are doing about it," said Tindog.

Tindog said the common reaction of both American and Filipino officials was to maintain security and stability in the area.

"He (Harris) renewed the assurance that US is for the peaceful resolution of the conflict, and they value the long-enduring alliance and friendship of Philippines and US."

Lopez also narrated that it was him who invited Harris to visit the country. He met with Harris at the Shang-rila Dialogue in Singapore in May, a few days after Harris assumed his position as Pacific Command chief.

"I told him that when you're already on area familiarization, you may visit Philippines, visit me at the Western Command. And he said 'I want to visit our command', thus the visit," said Lopez, recalling his conversation with Harris in Singapore.

AFP spokesman Col. Restituto Padilla said Iriberri described the meeting "as a great opportunity to further enhance a long lasting and enduring alliance."

"It was also in furtherance of a collective effort at ensuring regional security and stability as well as leveling of expectations," added Padilla.

According to Lopez, he and Harris did not talk about the possibility of US assistance in delivering supplies to Filipino troops in the disputed areas, contrary to what Department of National Defense (DND) spokesman Peter Paul Galvez said.

"We didn't discuss that during our meeting," said Lopez, adding there was no US commitment to deploy US ships or aircraft in the disputed areas.

"Based on the meeting between the SND (secretary of national defense) and Adm. Harris, the US PACOM is ready and willing to lend assistance in our maritime security concerns particularly in ensuring freedom of navigation and flight in the sea," he added.

According to Galvez, the topic of US assistance was raised by the Philippine side during the meeting.

"We brought the issue up due to our previous experiences," he said, referring to harassments done by Chinese ships against resupplying Filipino vessels.

Galvez said such US assistance is needed, given the Chinese threat to Filipino soldiers in the area.

"For security reasons, we are constrained to give details of said assistance…For security missions, we cannot give details on the exact assistance," Galvez said, refusing to elaborate on said assistance.

Harris went back to Manila after the meeting. He arrived in the country on Tuesday.

The USPACOM is the US' unified combatant command tasked to protect US interests in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Its area of operation comprises 36 countries, including the Philippines, Japan, and China.

It covers the largest area among all American geographic combatant units, and utilizes the US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps to serve its purposes.

This is Harris' first visit to the Philippines as USPACOM commander.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/08/27/15/us-pacific-command-chief-ends-philippine-visit