US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday promised support for the Philippine fight against al-Qaeda-linked militants and highlighted the US military’s role in helping the country recover from deadly typhoons.
Clinton arrived on a two-day visit after devastating back-to-back storms last month killed nearly 1,000 people in the worst floods and landslides to hit Metro Manila and the country’s north in more than 40 years.
Hundreds of US troops on counterterrorism exercises quickly responded with heavy equipment, ships and helicopters, cleaning streets clogged with debris and ferrying food to isolated villages.
HELPING OUT
“We were very pleased that we can respond quickly with our military assets,” Clinton told reporters. “Filipino and American doctors worked side by side to help thousands of flood victims. We saw our military forces working together to airlift thousands of tonnes of food, equipment and other vital cargo.”
During a visit to a high school that was heavily damaged by floods in Marikina city, Clinton announced an additional US$5 million in US aid. She spoke in front of hundreds of students, some waving small US and Philippine flags.
“We were severely devastated. I hope they will look at how much damage was caused,” said Kim Osorio, a senior at Malanday National High School.
Clinton said a US-Philippine military pact that allows the deployment of US troops is an “important expression of our partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interest.”
AGREEMENT
US troops will continue to provide assistance in the Philippines, she said.
The Visiting Forces Agreement, a cornerstone of the military alliance, has been criticized by Philippine left-wing and nationalist forces.
The Philippine senate recently passed a nonbinding resolution calling on the government to renegotiate the pact, which allows about 600 US troops to train and advise Filipino soldiers battling al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants in the country’s south.
Despite years of US military training and assistance, Philippine troops have struggled to contain the militants, who have recently intensified attacks, blowing up bridges, firing mortar shells and setting off roadside bombs.
‘READY TO ASSIST’
“I would just reiterate that the United States stands ready to assist our friends in the Philippines who are seeking to counter terrorism and the threat of extremism and we will be willing to support them in any way that is appropriate that they request,” Clinton said.
The 400-strong Abu Sayyaf has been suspected of getting funds and training from al-Qaeda and has been blamed for deadly bombings, beheadings and kidnappings that have victimized Americans and Filipinos.
It is also suspected of sheltering militants from the larger Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, and the US government has offered millions of dollars in rewards for the capture of its leaders.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia
ON ALERT: A Russian cruise missile crossed into Polish airspace for about 40 seconds, the Polish military said, adding that it is constantly monitoring the war to protect its airspace Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the western region of Lviv early yesterday came under a “massive” Russian air attack, officials said, while a Russian cruise missile breached Polish airspace, the Polish military said. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a series of deadly aerial attacks, with yesterday’s strikes coming a day after the Russian military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske, west of Bakhmut. A militant attack on a Moscow concert hall on Friday that killed at least 133 people also became a new flash point between the two archrivals. “Explosions in the capital. Air defense is working. Do not