SEVERAL countries are willing to assist the Philippines in enhancing its defense capabilities through a visiting forces agreement (VFA) or military exercises.
National Security Council (NSC) Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said at least 14 nations have expressed intentions to join “Balikatan” exercises in the country.
The “Balikatan” with the United States military demonstrates and refines tactics, techniques, and procedures related to security and conflicts.
There are also humanitarian civic assistance projects to improve infrastructure and enhance medical response, including trainings in advanced emergency rescue and lifesaving techniques.
“Dati po iyong Balikatan, ilang libo lang iyan kasama, iyong Amerika. Ngayon libu-libo na at ang observer natin, 14. Ganoon kadami iyong mga bansa na hindi lang salita, gawa na ngayon. Nagpapadala sila ng tropa mula sa bansa nila and they are asking permission to join,” he said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.
He said even New Zealand wants to strengthen its defenses alongside the Philippines, as expressed by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in his meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Malacañang Palace in Manila on Thursday.
The 39th iteration of the “Balikatan” on April 22 to May 10 will have observers from Brunei, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.
Malaya said the support of various countries is mainly due to the clear stand of the Philippines on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue.
“Wala pong ni isang bansa ang nagpapahayag ng suporta sa posisyon ng Tsina sa West Philippine Sea,” Malaya said.
In contrast, he said the Philippines is always visited by prime ministers, foreign ministers, defense ministers and the like.
“They understand that our position is important. We stand for the rule of law. We stand for a free and open Indo-Pacific and we stand for international law,” Malaya said.
He clarified though that the Philippines is accepting alliances with other nations not to create war.
“We are exhausting all diplomatic options to resolve this issue. We wish a constructive dialogue with the People’s Republic of China. But defending, improving our defenses and improving the capacity of our forces through exercises and joint patrols do not mean that we are going to war,” he said.
“We have no intention of precipitating any form of war with anyone,” he added.
All VFA announcements will have to come from the Department of Foreign Affairs, he said.
“All I can say right now are the countries that have expressed interest to us publicly, like Japan,” he said. (PNA)
