By Priam F. Nepomuceno
MANILA, Oct. 31 (PNA) — Ranking defense officials announced Friday that the Philippines is militarily benefiting a lot from the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
This came in wake of calls to scrap the agreements following the killing of Filipino transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude in Olongapo City, Zambales last Oct. 11 with US Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton tagged as the prime suspect.
“EDCA is beneficial to the AFP and the Philippine Navy in particular both in terms of training and information sharing,” Philippine Navy (PN) spokesperson Col. Edgard Arevalo said.
He also said that the interoperability training, obtained through the VFA by Filipino sailors and Marines with their American counterparts, afford them capability and capacity in maritime operations to better secure the country’s maritime domain.
“With the use of their modern equipment and military assets, the US Armed Forces shares vital information to their AFP counterparts that they help monitor, analyze, and utilize to boost its limited capability in attaining maritime situational awareness,” he added.
Arevalo said that these are some of the gains of the Philippines derive from the US so far as strengthening the Armed Forces in protecting the country’s maritime domain is concerned.
Major Emmanuel Garcia, 1st Civil Relations Group commander, also stressed that the EDCA and the VFA is very beneficial to the Philippines and its defense program.
“These agreements on joint exercises and enhanced cooperation are necessary tools for the improvement of our defense capability,” he added.
Garcia stressed the VFA and EDCA is not unique only to the Philippines as even advanced and militarily strong countries undertake such agreements and conduct joint military exercises to further improve their respective Armed Forces.
“The joint exercises, not only with the US but all foreign allied forces is beneficial to the host country and the visiting troops,” he pointed out.
Garcia said that joint exercises specifically improve the Armed Forces’ combat and non-combat readiness as a country and upgrade the knowledge skill of our military units and individual soldiers.
He said the Philippines is particularly benefiting from the following:
1. Joint exercises on maritime security and protection of maritime resources;
2. Community humanitarian assistance projects which includes construction of school buildings, farm-to-market roads and other infrastructures;
3. Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercises and cooperation;
4. Community health engagements which include medical and dental missions to people and veterinary care to livestock in far communities;
5. Counter and anti-counter terrorism exercises;
6. Anti-smuggling and anti-illegal drugs exercises and cooperation; and
7. Joint and combined land, air and naval exercises in protecting our territorial integrity and national integrity.
“Our people benefit in a lot more endeavors involving the activities in these bilateral and multi-bilateral engagements including economic gains,” Garcia stressed.
And since we are living in a community of nations and such international military engagements based on bilateral and multilateral agreements are a healthy and necessary activities for our country to get involved in for the benefit of the greater number of Filipinos, he added.
“In line with our economic and national interest in protecting our vast natural resources, and national patrimony and territorial integrity,” the 1st Civil Relations Group commander stated.
While Philippine Navy public affairs office chief Lt. Cmdr. Marineth Domingo stated that bilateral exercises being conducted through the VFA, helps the PN to carry out its mandate, and its distinct military and diplomatic roles serve as a training opportunity for all participants.
“Second, interoperability exercises provide us an avenue to be adept to the new and new emerging technologies that will make us a strong and credible force,” he added.
Likewise, these exercises are designed to promote regional peace and stability and enhance maritime security and intelligence operations, she added.
Furthermore, Domingo said these agreements enhance Philippine capability in the conduct of persistent surface and air patrols in the high seas and maritime areas of interest to establish naval presence and a robust command and control to sustain all deployed Fleet and Marine forces.
Earlier, Department of National (DND) Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said that scrapping the VFA could hurt Philippine military efforts to achieve a “minimum credible defense posture.”
He added that the country has gained a lot militarily from the VFA since its enactment in 1999.
“The Americans have given us a lot to improve our defense capabilities, you know fully well that our efforts to upgrade the capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines have been sorely left behind,” Gazmin said in Filipino.
Instead of abrogating the VFA, Gazmin suggested that efforts be made to fine-tune or improve it.
“Let us not forget that the VFA is a component of our overall defense strategy and its abrogation now will have an adverse effect on the minimum credible defense posture that we are working hard to achieve,” he said. (PNA)