US soldiers should be stationed at West PH Sea, says former senator

A former senator – one of those who voted to renew the Philippines’ Military Bases Agreement with the United States in 1991 – proposes that Manila tests its ally’s supposed “ironclad commitment” to defend the Philippines. Given a new military deal that gives US troops unhampered access to Philippine military facilities for free, why not send them to Ayungin and Scarborough Shoals in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), where Chinese ships have harassed Filipinos several times. “It may be far out of the box, but the US can put itself where its mouth is by even agreeing to discuss that possibility. Why not basing rights in Ayungin and Scarborough because that can be developed by them faster than we [can]?” former Senator Rene Saguisag told Rappler in an interview. “The statements of Obama were provocative enough. So one can read into it any message he wants. So here, you want presence? Okay. So we’re offering you what we long believed is our territory,” he said on #TalkThursday. A rusty Navy ship called BRP Sierra Madre is grounded in Ayungin, serving as a naval detachment of the Philippine Marines and a symbol of Manila’s claim on the shoal. Saguisag has criticized the lack of transparency behind the crafting of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). He supports moves to question the process of entering into the deal before the Supreme Court.

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Watch Saguisag’s interview on Rappler’s #TalkThursday.