Stronger RP-US war vs terrorism vowed

New US Ambassador Francis Joseph Ricciardone Jr. vowed yesterday to strengthen Philippine-US efforts to stop the spread in Southeast Asia of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terrorist network.

After presenting his credentials to President Arroyo at Malacañang, Ricciardone told reporters the US government is concerned about the reported "regrouping" of al-Qaeda in Southeast Asia, which is believed to have links with Abu Sayyaf Islamist rebels in Basilan.

"We’re very concerned about the reach of terrorism globally and of course we’re paying particular attention to its effects here, something the people of the Philippines live with," he said.

"Terrorism is a problem for both of us. And your government is determined to deal with this issue. We’re very proud that we’re working so closely in dealing with this problem," Ricciar-done said.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said government intelligence agencies will work closely with the US in rooting out terrorism in the region.

"Our intelligence community has a very close working relationship with (the US) intelligence community and in Southeast Asia, that includes the Jemaah Islamiyah which has bases in Singapore and Indonesia," he said.

"We are looking at this closely, looking at how widespread their network is, especially in arms trafficking."

Jemaah Islamiyah, an alleged terrorist network active in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, is believed to have links with al-Qaeda.

Ricciardone said he informed Mrs. Arroyo that the US government’s no-ransom policy applies to American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham.

"In fact, I touched on the point," he said. "We’re talking about the same policy, with a few nuances and clarifications. You really have to look at the exact text."

The Burnhams have been held captive by Abu Sayyaf bandits since they were snatched from the Dos Palmas beach resort off Palawan on May 27 last year.

However, Ricciardone said it is important for the US government that the Burnhams and Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap be safely rescued at once from the clutches of the Abu Sayyaf.

"It is more important than it is for the release of all the hostages and that it includes Yap, the Filipina hostage," he said.

"It is important that all three (hostages) are freed immediately, unharmed as President Arroyo and President (George W.) Bush said together in Washington in November when she visited," the envoy added.

In Washington DC, the US announced a new, more aggressive policy to deal with abductions of US citizens overseas in a bid to deter would-be kidnappers.

The new policy requires a federal review of every overseas kidnapping to determine whether US intervention — from diplomatic to military — is warranted, the State Department said.

"It’s an attempt to dissuade people who might consider taking hostages from doing so in some vain hope that they might gain a benefit thereby," spokesman Richard Boucher said, unveiling the policy.

Although the new guidelines, presented in a two-page written statement, do not make major changes to the old policy, Boucher said it was notable that the abductions of private US citizens would now be treated similarly to those of Americans in official capacities.

"What is different now is to say that we look at every kidnapping and every hostage-taking to consider what the US government can do to gain the safe return of the individual, whether is an official American or a private American," he said.

Before the new policy came into effect, Boucher said that was not the case.

Meanwhile, Ricciardone said he made the official commitment to Mrs. Arroyo of the US government’s intention to prevent Bin Laden from spreading terrorism in the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia.

"This is my initial meeting with (Mrs. Arroyo) and I expressed my pleasure of being here and commitment to work closely with her government," he said.

Ricciardone said he expressed "the esteem in which my government holds the Philippines and her administration, and I hope that we can take the relationship to a new historic dimension, a real maturing of the relationship."

He said the US Embassy website, dated Feb. 20, clarifies earlier news reports that the US government has adopted a new policy mandating a review of every kidnapping of an American overseas to determine whether US military intervention is warranted.

"I would refer you to that (website)," he said. "It goes into great detail explaining that we’re talking about the same policies."

Posted in Washington, DC, the website contains the full nine-page transcript of statements by Richard Boucher, the State Department spokesman, who issued a clarification on the matter, he added.

"The United States will use very appropriate resources to gain the safe return of American citizens who are held hostage," read an excerpt from the website.

"At the same time, it is the US government policy to deny hostage takers the benefits of ransom, prisoner release, policy changes, or other acts of concession."

The website cited 18 USC 1203 or the Act for the Prevention of the Crime of Hostage-Taking (enacted October, 1984 in implementing the United Nations Convention on hostage-taking), which defines the seizure of a US citizen as a hostage anywhere in the world as a federal crime subject to investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and to prosecution by US authorities.

"The US government is concerned for the welfare of its citizens but cannot support requests that host governments violate their own laws or abdicate their normal enforcement responsibilities," read an excerpt from the website.

Ricciardone arrived in Manila last Monday to officially assume his post at the US Embassy in Manila.

Peruvian Ambassador to Manila Jorge Chavez Soto also presented his credentials to Mrs. Arroyo at Malacañang yesterday.

At the Senate, security and foreign affairs officials assured senators that Bush’s new policy on forward presence in Asia would not infringe on the sovereignty of the Philippines.

Golez and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Merlin Magallona told the Senate committees on foreign affairs and national defense that relations between the Manila and Washington would not be affected by Bush’s new policy.

In speeches in Seoul, South Korea and Tokyo, Japan, Bush said the US would make its presence felt in Asia in its continuing campaign against international terrorism.

Sen. Blas Ople, chairman of the Senate committee on foreign relations, said he was convinced that Bush’s new policy would not indicate a new direction in bilateral relations.

"I believe in the assurances of Golez and Magallona that US forward presence would not affect our bilateral relations, which will be governed by existing treaties like the Visiting Forces Agreement and the Mutual Defense Treaty," he said.

Ople stressed that the Philippines is not an unwilling and unable country in fighting terrorism.

"We are a front-line country against terrorism, so the US plan does not affect us," he said. — With reports from Efren Danao