Philippine court OKs pact allowing US troops in local camps

The Philippines Supreme Court on Tuesday declared constitutional a security deal with the United States allowing an increa sed US military presence in the former USA colony as tension rises in the South China Sea.

Voting 10-4, the SC en banc ruled the defense pact was not unconstitutional and dismissed two petitions contesting the April 28, 2014 agreement, SC Public Information Office Chief Theodore O. Te said in a press briefing.

The Philippines’ top court upheld the validity of a defense agreement with the USA, in a ruling that will help the nation counter China’s push for control of disputed areas in the South China Sea.

The military deal between the United States and the Philippine governments has become controversial, especially when questions on its constitutionality were raised in the Supreme Court (SC).

The deal was opposed to by some Filipino politicians and activists, who said it was a de facto deal to host American military bases and turned the Philippines into a “a launching pad for military intervention in the region”.

The long-simmering disputes involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei have escalated in recent years. In the Philippines, a treaty needs the concurrence of the Senate in order to be valid while an executive agreement needs only the signature of the President or his representative without need of Senate concurrence.

Washington welcomed the court’s ruling.

THE LEGAL debate over the long-term presence on Philippine soil of American military men and materiel revolves mainly around Section 25 of Article XVIII that gathers in the last part of the Constitution various transitory provisions, one of them on foreign bases.

Not only the White House but also several senior U.S. congressional leaders reportedly frown on readily making such upgrades, not only in agreements with the Philippines but also with most other countries. “As an executive agreement, it remains consistent with existing laws and treaties that it purports to implement”.

Sonny Coloma, a spokesman for President Benigno S. Aquino III, said the agreement would bring a “generational leap” for the defense capabilities of the Philippines, which has one of the weakest militaries in Asia. “The US is not accountable to the Philippines because it’s a mere agreement – it’s not a treaty”.

The Philippine military has identified several possible locations facing China where it would like new USA facilities built and operated.

Filipino and USA embassy officials declined to give details on Tuesday as to how quickly the pact would be implemented, or specifics such as which bases would be used by the Americans.

The new pact, which was only meant to be in place for 10 years from 2014, does not authorise a return of U.S. bases.

STRONGER ALLIANCE. (L-R) Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, and Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose L. Cuisia, Jr listen to their US counterparts’ remarks at the working lunch of the 2nd Philippines-US Two-plus-Two Ministerial Dialogue, on January 12, 2016, at the US Department of State in Washington DC.