Phl, US to resume talks on American troops' presence

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines and the United States (US) are set to resume talks on the increased rotational presence of American troops in the country on Jan. 30, defense officials said Friday.

Defense Undersecretary Pio Batino, head of the Philippine negotiating panel, said the fifth round of talks would be held in Washington and would tackle key issues including base access.

“The negotiations will resume on Jan. 30,” Batino told reporters in a chance interview in Camp Aguinaldo.

“We’re talking about access, were talking about how we can enhance our defense cooperation with US,” he added.

Batino said the talks would also take up “conceptual discussions of concepts and possible mechanisms.”

He declined to provide a timeline for the completion of the talks, saying the talks are underway.

The Philippines and the US negotiators have conducted four rounds of negotiations since August.

In November, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin admitted that the talks on the increased rotational presence have hit an impasse owing to the failure of the two panels to reach a deal on temporary US facilities to be set up in the country.

Gazmin said the US has submitted proposals that they do not agree with. He said the two panels are also threshing out the wordings of the agreement.

Despite the issues stalling the talks, the Philippine panel remains upbeat about the prospects of the negotiations.

“We still have a positive outlook. We’re still making good time I think with respect to the period of negotiation,” Batino said.

The Philippines and the US have adopted the policy on increased rotational presence amid efforts by China to enhance its presence in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), the subject of a territorial row in the region.

Officials said an agreement with the US would enable the Philippines to achieve what they called a “minimum credible defense.”

The presence of US soldiers is a highly controversial issue in the Philippines, with activists claiming that the policy would violate the country’s sovereignty.

The Philippine Senate voted to shut down the US bases in the country in 1991 but a deal allowing joint drills between American and Filipino soldiers was ratified eight years later.

The approval of the Visiting Forces Agreement in 1999 has triggered fresh anti-American sentiments from groups who claim that Washington is planning to dominate the region.

Philippine officials have given assurances that the agreement to be crafted with the US would not violate existing laws.