U.S. and Philippines Hold Joint Military Exercises - NYTimes.comU.S. and Philippines Hold Joint Military Exercises - NYTimes.com






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Asia Pacific 
U.S. and Philippines Hold Joint Military Exercises

By FLOYD WHALEYSEPT. 29, 2014
 
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SUBIC BAY, Philippines — Joint military exercises between the United States Navy and its Philippine counterpart kicked off on Monday in Palawan, the island closest to contested areas of the South China Sea.The war games, involving thousands of sailors and marines, will go on for 11 days at the former United States naval base at Subic Bay, which is now a commercial port, as well as in other areas in the northern and western part of the country.Such exercises between the United States and its former colony have been taking place since 1954 but are now being conducted amid a tense dispute over islets and rocky outcroppings in the South China Sea claimed by both the Philippines and China.The Philippines has filed a case with a United Nations arbitration panel seeking to stop China from occupying the areas in the South China Sea. China claims most of the South China Sea, and the Philippine government has released aerial photos purportedly showing Chinese reclamation of land to build islands and runways in the disputed areas.In April, the United States and the Philippines signed an agreement to expand military cooperation that would involve stationing American military ships, planes and troops in the country on a rotating basis. The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement would allow the Philippine armed forces, among the weakest in Southeast Asia, to bolster their maritime security in coordination with the advanced capabilities of the United States military.Three petitions have been filed with the Philippine Supreme Court, by labor and other groups, seeking to declare the agreement unconstitutional. The Philippine Constitution prohibits the establishment of foreign bases in the country unless they are approved by a Senate treaty. The April agreement was undertaken by executive action and was not presented to congress. The government has responded that the new United States military facilities will not be fixed bases and are not covered by the treaty requirement.The public affairs office of the Philippines’ Department of National Defense declined on Monday to comment on the status of the agreement while it is being considered by the Supreme Court. There is no temporary restraining order that would block the agreement, but according to one defense analyst, the government is holding off on implementation for now.“According to the defense officials I have spoken to, they want to resolve the constitutional issues in court first, before implementation,” said Renato Cruz De Castro, an international studies professor at Manila’s De La Salle University, who specializes in the strategic relationship between the United States and the Philippines.It is not clear when the Supreme Court might hear the case, although Mr. De Castro estimated it could be within a few months. In other high-profile cases, including one involving contraception for poor women that faced multiple court challenges, the Supreme Court ruled in less than a year.Those who oppose the agreement, and the war games, say that the increased United States military activity in the Philippines inflames the situation in the South China Sea.“For over three decades now, the U.S. and the Philippines have conducted the annual war games supposedly to improve our nation’s military prowess,” said Terry Ridon, a Philippine congressman who opposes the agreement. “Yet our armed forces remain weak and out of step from modernity. The promised benefits of the annual military exercises have yet to be seen, but now we have E.D.C.A., which will allow for unhampered military presence in the country.”The exercises that began Monday include about 5,000 sailors and marines from the two countries, who will practice working together on humanitarian activities, such as disaster response, as well as military procedures, including beach assaults. The U.S.S. Peleliu and the U.S.S. Germantown, ships used for beach assaults, are in Subic Bay for the exercises. The U.S.S. Halsey, a guided missile destroyer, also arrived on Monday for a routine port call.


A version of this article appears in print on September 30, 2014, on page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: The Philippines: U.S. Joins War Games.  Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe









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