DON'T DO IT | Think tank cautions Duterte against ending military drills with US

From InterAksyon (Oct 1): DON'T DO IT | Think tank cautions Duterte against ending military drills with US



Joint US-PH amphibious military exercises. Philstar file photograph

The Philippine government was cautioned on Saturday against making good on President Duterte's vow to end further military exercises with key defense ally the United States for the rest of his term.

Such drills, according to Dindo Manhit, president of the local think tank Albert del Rosario Institute, named after Manila's immediate past foreign affairs secretary, do not just bolster ties between nations and armed forces, but also develop the capabilities of the military to independently deal with challenges, both military and civilian.

"Military exercises range from those intended to improve, say, maritime security, such as strengthening anti-piracy capabilities, to addressing internal concerns such as counter-terror and counter-insurgency capabilities."

"Moreover, the same exercises are used to improve the military's ability to respond to humanitarian challenges during natural disasters, as well as conduct search-and-rescue operations," Manhit said.

It was under Del Rosario's watch that the Philippines filed – and won – a case against China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, with the UN-backed tribunal dismissing China's claims of historical sovereignty over nearly 90 percent of the South China Sea.

There had been observations that Duterte could be bashing the US as he cozies up to China, which he will visit Oct. 19-21, and where he hopes to tackle ways for the two Asian neighbors to move forward on the SCS issues.

Beijing snubbed the entire Hague proceedings and dismissed the court's ruling, while Duterte vowed to use the "four corners of this document" (the ruling) to get Beijing to ease up its blockade of Filipino fishermen in Scarborough Shoal off Masinloc, Zambales.

But if casting away the traditional joint exercises with the US were meant to please China, Manhit said, the latter should not take offense because Manila has never spoken out against China's holding joint drills with other countries in the region's seas – including recent ones that China undertook separately with the US and Russia.

Manhit noted that "The Philippines has conducted and joint military exercises with international partners for years, and these should not be interpreted provocatively by any one country. In June of this year, China joined naval exercises hosted by the United States. This month, China conducted naval exercises with Russia in the South China Sea. The Philippines has not interpreted any of these moves provocatively, and China should do the same."

Duterte had said Wednesday (Sept. 28) he will soon end joint military exercises with the US, in one of his speeches in Hanoi. He said the military drills that begin Oct. 4, called Phiblex, would be the last. 

"I will serve notice to you now, that this will be the last military exercise, jointly Philippines-US, the last one," he told several hundred Vietnam-based Filipinos.

The Philippine-US Amphibious Landing Exercises (Phiblex) runs from October 4 to 12 in the Philippines. The Philippines and the US April conducted the larger annual Balikatan exercises, with over 8,000 forces from both sides participating.

Before the remarks in Hanoi, Duterte said he will eject US special forces from Mindanao, saying there won't ever be peace when foreign troops are meddling. He also skipped an ASEAN leaders' meeting with President Barack Obama in Laos.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/132927/dont-do-it--think-tank-cautions-duterte-against-ending-military-drills-with-us