(UPDATE) TENSIONS in the Middle East would have no effect on the military support of the US to the Philippines despite its ongoing war against Iran, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on Tuesday.
“There’s been no marked observed downscale in the support of our treaty ally or even other like-minded nations when it comes to West Philippine Sea activities, especially MMCAs (Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activities), even maybe forthcoming exercises,” said Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea.
“The MMCA recently conducted is a classic example of that. So there’s been no marked dip in the support of our treaty ally,” Trinidad said.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. tagged as unfounded concerns that Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites around the country are potential targets for Iran’s retaliatory attacks, after US and Israeli forces attacked the Middle Eastern nation and killed its leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“We cannot compare the situation in the Middle East [and the one] here in the Philippines. Our bilateral and multilateral alliances are for defensive purposes and deterrent purposes only,” Teodoro said in Filipino in an interview with Malacañang reporters.
The United States and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on Feb. 28, triggering Iranian retaliatory attacks on American bases across the Middle East, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
In the Philippines, there are nine EDCA sites — the Cesar Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga; Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation in Nueva Ecija; Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro; Antonio Bautista Air Base in Puerto Princesa, Palawan; Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu; Naval Base Camilo Osias in Sta. Ana, Cagayan; Lal-lo Airport in Lal-lo, Cagayan; Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela; and Balabac Island in Palawan.
Teodoro echoed the earlier statement of the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) that the military installations are not US-controlled bases and remain under the full ownership, control and management of the Philippine military.
“These concerns, I will repeat, are baseless. Right now, I will repeat what the Armed Forces said: There is no direct threat to the security of the Republic of the Philippines in the military sense of what is happening in the Middle East right now,” he said.
Teodoro said he, as concurrent chief of the National Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC), is now coordinating with his counterparts from different agencies to determine how to efficiently assist in the planned repatriation of more than 1,000 Filipinos who have requested to be brought home.
As of the latest data reaching the Palace, the repatriation requests are broken down as follows: Dubai (586), Israel (297), Abu Dhabi (270), Bahrain (231), Jordan (22), and Iran (10).
