United States President Barack Obama will visit the Philippine Navy flagship BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15) where he will meet with senior Filipino defense officials.
The event is designed to underscore the United States’ commitment to Philippine maritime security.
Obama is scheduled to arrive in the country on Tuesday. Nov. 17, for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ meeting.
“Shortly after his arrival, the President will spend his first event focused on our alliance with the Philippines and our maritime security assistance to the region,” according to Daniel J. Kritenbrink, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
This will include a visit to BRP Gregorio Del Pilar, where Obama will meet with U.S. and Filipino sailors and senior Filipino defense officials. Del Pilar is a Hamilton-class weather high endurance cutter (WHEC) acquired by the Philippines from the U.S. in 2011 through the Excess Defense Articles (EDA).
Kritenbrink said the event with the Philippine Navy will underscore the United States’ commitment to assisting the region with stronger maritime security capabilities.
The Philippines is embroiled in a territorial dispute with China, which claims over 80 percent of the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) based on a nine-dash line drawn on a 1940s map lodged informally with the United Nations in 2009.
Obama’s visit takes place against the backdrop of tensions in the region caused by China’s massive reclamation and construction in the Spratlys and the threat of militarization of the outposts.
It also follows on the heels of a recent decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) to hear the case brought by the Philippines in its territorial dispute with China.
Besides the Philippines, China’s claims in the South China Sea also overlap with Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
While the territorial disputes is not in the APEC agenda, U.S. officials said it will be a central issue when Obama confers with President Benigno S. Aquino III, as well as, other Asian leaders on the margins of the summit through bilateral meetings.
Aquino and Obama are scheduled meet Wednesday morning. The two are expected to address a number of issues important to both countries, from economic to regional security, including the South China Sea and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
“I think you can expect that there’ll be a good deal of discussion about the security side of our alliance as well, particularly our cooperation together to enhance the Philippines’ maritime security.
And I think you’ll see through the President’s events on the ground and some of the announcements he’ll make, you’ll see proof of our commitment to assisting our Filipino allies in that regard,” said Kritenbrink.
The U.S. official said they look forward to the implementation of the EDCA, signed by Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin and U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg in April 2014, hours before Obama arrived in Manila for a state visit.
“We think it will help enhance alliance cooperation, our ability to further enhance the Philippines’ security, to respond to natural disasters and provide humanitarian assistance,” said Kritenbrink.
“I know that currently, EDCA is being reviewed by the Philippines Supreme Court, and we look forward to the court’s ruling on the issue. But it’s very clear to us what the benefits of EDCA will be, both for the people of the Philippines and the people of the United States, and we look forward to being able to implement it in the near future,” he added.
Earlier, Goldberg also said, “We have a very good EDCA agreement and we’re looking forward to implementing it when the time is right, when all of the decisions have been made on this side.”
The high tribunal last week deferred handing down a ruling on the EDCA, which some sectors have denounced as too advantageous to the U.S.
http://www.mb.com.ph/obama-to-visit-phl-navy-flagship-brp-gregorio-del-pilar/
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