U.S. preparations for military base in Basilan spark alarm

Filipino legislators have sounded the alarm over an allegation by Texas-based Strategic Forces Inc (Stratfor) that the U.S. is preparing for a forward base in Basilan, southern Philippines.

Congressman Jose Apolinario Lozada, chairman of the committee on foreign relations of the House of Representatives, said many issues surrounding the ongoing U.S.-Philippine war-games will be investigated in the lower house of Congress next week.

The agenda to be undertaken at the convening of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) in the lower house on April 30, has been finalised, he added.

The formation of the bicameral body to monitor activities based on the VFA was legislated during the 11th Congress. It is a permanent panel, Lozada said.

The panel is chaired jointly by Lozada and Senate counterpart, Senator Blas Ople, Congressman Prospero Pichay and Senator Ramon Magasaysay, who are respective chairmen for committees on national defence in the lower and upper houses of Congress.

Lozada said the panel will determine if the U.S. and the Philippines government want the expansion of U.S. soldiers in the region, the areas of deployment, the length of U.S. presence, and policy guidelines in the ongoing U.S.-Philippine wargames.

"We would like to know what's happening. What is the truth? What are the policy guidelines?" said Lozada. "I will introduce (Stratfor study) to the meeting. Why is this not being discussed openly?" Lozada asked.

Lozada said a basing arrangement would require a bilateral treaty between the U.S. and the Philippines and should not be enforced through executive agreements.

A forward logistics and operations base is allegedly meant to launch counter-terrorist attacks on U.S. enemies in the region such as the Islamic radicals in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the southern Philippines. "They would have to draft a treaty, negotiate, have it signed between the two governments. It is not final until it is ratified by both countries' Senate," Lozada said.

At the same time, the Constitution would have to be amended because the charter is clear in banning foreign basing, Lozada said.

The 1987 Constitution bans foreign basing on Philippines territory, or a treaty between U.S. and the Philippines. Leftist Congress-woman Loretta Ann Rosales said plans to establish a forward base in Mindanao is a "blatant violation" of the VFA which was ratified by the Senate in 1998.

"The VFA said short and brief non-combatant joint military exercises would be allowed. The six-month period for the current wargames in Mindanao and Cebu is pretty long," Rosales said.

The U.S. is intending to acquire "permanent access to the territory. This calls to mind actual physical structure by Americans like the old Subic Naval and Clark Air bases which were phased out in 1991," she said.

A resurgence of similar basing set-up would cause problems to the U.S. government because of the resistance by many American citizens who would normally question the use of U.S. public funds for these exercises, said Rosales.

Bulatlat.com reported that "new long-term global and regional security programmes are in the drawing board" of the U.S., following the September 11 terror attacks in New York and Washington D.C.