Pagbasura ng PH sa VFA ‘wrong direction’

Sinabi kahapon ni United States Defense Secretary Mark Esper na ang utos ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na wakasan ang Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) ay isang paglipat sa maling direksyon.

Ipinaliwanag ni Esper na ang pagwawakas ng Pilipinas ng VFA ay dumating sa panahon na US at ang mga kaalyado nito ay abala sa pakikipagkumpitensya sa China “in this era of great competition.”

“I do think it would be a move in the wrong direction as -- as we both bilaterally with the Philippines and collectively with a number of other partners and allies in the region are trying to say to the Chinese, ‘You must obey the international rules of order. You must obey, you know, abide by international norms.’ And as we try and, you know, bolster our presence and compete with them in this era of great power competition,” sinabi ni Esper sa mga mamamahayag habang patungo sa dadaluhang North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meeting sa Europe.

Gayunman, sinabi ng pinuno ng depensa ng US na hindi pa nila nada-“digest” notice of termination na ipinadala ng gobyerno ng Pilipinas sa US Embassy sa Maynila lamang nitong Martes (Lunes ng gabi sa US) at kumunsulta sa kanyang commanders.

“We have to work through the policy angles, the military angles. I’m going to hear from my commanders. But you know, in my view, it’s unfortunate that they would make this move,” sinabi niya.

Naalala rin ni Esper na nasa Maynila lang siya noong Nobyembre kung saan siya nagkaroon ng “very good meetings” sa kanyang Filipino counterparts, lalo na si Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, na inilarawan niyang “very interlocutor” sa kanilang mga talakayan tungkol sa VFA at iba pang mga bagay na nauugnay sa relasyon ng US-Pilipinas.

“But look, we just got the notification last night. We’ve got to read it. We’ve got to digest it. One hundred and eighty days. We’ve got to work through it, and -- and we’ll just take a deep breath and take it one day at a time,” dagdag niya.