CPP-Information Bureau propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines Website (May 21): Duterte “Noynoying” over US and China saber-rattling
Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines
21 May 2018
Press Release
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) condemns the Duterte regime for publicly acting indifferent amid the intensified saber-rattling of the US and China which raises military tensions and increases possibility of dragging the Philippines into the middle of superpower armed conflict.
Duterte is guilty of at least two counts of “Noynoying” recently which amounted to outright acts of surrendering Philippine national sovereignty. First, he allowed at least 3,000 US soldiers, warships, jetfighters, drones and other military equipment to conduct war games in Philippine territory in the recent US-RP Balikatan exercises in direct violation and contempt of Philippine sovereignty. In the name of “interoperability”, the US military makes use of the AFP as pawns in US strategy of building and projecting military strength in the South China Sea to control the trade routes and encircle China. Fearing the US will stop providing military aid to his Oplan Kapayapaan and martial law campaign of suppression, Duterte has made no moves to end the unequal military treaties with the US including the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) which all give the US military extra-territorial rights, allow it to maintain permanent military presence in the country, intervene in local domestic affairs and make use of the Philippines as a military foothold to mount acts of aggression in Asia and other regions.
Meanwhile, Duterte has refused to raise even a whimper against China’s deployment of H-6K bomber planes which conducted exercises and simulated strikes in the airspace in and around the Spratly Islands. This is his second recent act of “Noynoying.” He has turned a blind eye to China’s outright incursions in Philippine territories claiming fears of “inviting trouble”. He has allowed China to trample on Philippine national sovereignty by his failure to act against China’s construction of runways, hangars, ports and other military facilities in areas within Philippine territorial waters. He is mortally afraid of losing all the billions of dollars of promised China investments in the country which he uses to bribe corrupt politicians and government officials to ensure their loyalty.
The CPP reiterates its protests against US and China saber-rattling and militarization over the South China Sea and the Philippines. Defense of Philippine national sovereignty entails that the Filipino people demand an end to US military presence in the country and a stop to Chinese military build-up in the South China Sea and waters within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.
The CPP denounces the hypocrisy of the US government over the statement by the US State Department criticizing China for “continued militarization” of the South China Sea. The US imperialists, are in fact, at least equally liable if not more guilty for militarizing the South China Sea where it has continuously deployed its armada of aircraft carriers and littoral ships, where it flies military drones non-stop and so on.
Without actually defending and promoting Philippine national sovereignty, Duterte’s declarations of an “independent foreign policy” are mere rhetoric. The Filipino people demand a genuine independent foreign policy which calls for actively asserting peaceful co-existence and non-alignment—from China or the US. On the one hand, the Filipino people call for the dismantling of all military structures erected by China in the Spratly Islands.
More importantly, the Filipino people demand an end to all military treaties with the US, for all US military troops and advisers to leave the country and for all US military facilities to be dismantled. As long as the US military enjoys extra-territorial rights in the country, the Philippines cannot claim non-alignment. The presence of US military forces in the Philippines serve as magnet that continuously attracts attacks by US adversaries and drags the country to US imperialist conflicts.
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