QUEZON CITY – Peace advocates are seeking the removal of EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement) sites in the Philippines for peace and independent foreign policy.
During the media forum and book launching of the third edition of “The Bases of Our Insecurity” at the Packo’s Bar & Restaurant on Tuesday (July 2), University of the Philippines (UP) Professor and peace advocates said that the removal of EDCA military bases is needed for peace and true independent foreign policy.
Corazon Valdez-Fabros, Co-President of the International Peace Bureau (IPB), said that Prof. Simbulan had been in this important part of the country’s history.
Fabros added that Prof. Simbulan had been retired but not tired and expressed the hope that it would be the start of Prof. Simbulan to be going around the country.
Prof. Simbulan thanked Fabros and Princess Nemenzo for being present in today’s media forum and book launching.
He said that another formal book launching will be held on Saturday, July 6, 2024 from 5 pm to 8 pm at the University Hotel in UP Diliman.
He noted that the original book was just like the size of a “pocket book”. Little that he knew that it became a “bible” and a little reference book of Ateneo de Manila University and other schools.
“This book is now republished as a third edition. The first edition was during the first Cold War and the third edition is now with the new condition in the new Cold War and the antagonism and the prevailing condition that may lead to a war,” Prof. Simbulan said.
He cited that the increased of the EDCA into nine sites has even made it more antagonistic situation.
“Sa ngayon ang ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) ng US at China are based in their respective country,” he said.
He cited that Russia has alerted its nuclear forces targeting the United States, which raised the pitch of “war mongering” and the possibility of the war today will not be the same as the World War I or World War II.
“A Fourth World War after the Third World War would result to nuclear extinction and it will be fought with stick and stone,” he said.
“Akala natin, having the foreign bases here would mean our security, but it has even become the ‘magnet’ of foreign aggression,” he added.
“The presence of American bases here has compromised our foreign policy and national security,” Prof. Simbulan said.
He recalled that during the Vietnam War, “we even sent troops there”, which sprayed “agent orange” and the question was raised why Vietnam did not fight back?
“If they had the means, they would have retaliated to defend themselves. And the difference now, is that the enemies of the United States – China and Russia – had the means to fight back,” Prof. Simbulan said.
“We should look at Vietnam as a model of our foreign policy,” he added.
He stressed that the EDCA sites are now the “targets” of the enemies of the United States such as Russia and China.
Anti-war coalition activist and WomanHealth NGO advocate Princess Nemenzo, and Berlin-based Co-President of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Peace Bureau (IPB), Corazon Valdez-Fabros participated in the panel discussion.
“There is life after the (US) Bases,” Fabros said.
In his latest edition, Prof. Simbulan expanded on his critical analysis of the strategic implications of foreign military bases in the Philippines, specifically addressing the controversial 9 EDCA bases in the Philippines, most of the new ones are located across Taiwan which China considers a renegade province and not near the West Philippine Sea.
Prof. Simbulan stressed that foreign military bases in the Philippines pose significant risks, including entanglement in increasingly these conflicts among superpowers such as USA, China and Russia.
He added ”the EDCA bases compromise our national sovereignty and make us a target for attacks in geopolitical rivalries.”
Princess Nemenzo congratulated Prof. Simbulan for issuing the Third Edition of “The Bases of Our Insecurity”.
She said that the book has become a “bible” which highlighted the historical and socio-political context of foreign military presence in the Philippines.
Nemenzo herself witnessed the Second World War during the Japanese invasion. “It has been a long horrific experience for me,” she said.
“The colonial bondage (American time) has not been completely rescinded, which rekindled my advocacy,” she added.
She stressed “Philippine experiences with foreign bases have repeatedly shown that they do not contribute to our security but rather increase the likelihood of our involvement in conflicts not of our own making.”
“Through the Cold War, naging biktima rin ho kami. We were branded as communists,” Nemenzo said.
Nemenzo’s own training had been in foreign relations, but she has been with women movement.
“The United States had been the dominant power, especially after World War II,” she said.
“Nawasak na po ang Iran, Iraq, Cuba, the Middle East and Manila, who expelled the United States military bases, sapagkat ang nakikita ng Amerika ay far from their borders, because they have continued to implement containment activities.
Nemenzo was also part of the movement which kicked out the US Bases. “They came back with vengeance. Hindi lang dalawa, tatlo, but they are now all over the country,” she said.
She was very clear that from the very beginning she was monitoring the United States.
“This is something that is not our own doing. Hindi po natin kaaway ang Tsina. But it does not mean that we should not be aware of what is happening,” Nemenzo said.
“Kaya itong West Philippine Sea, the South China Sea dapat tingnan as ‘commons. The richness of planet Earth,” she added.
Nemenzo stressed that Filipinos are now very much focused on what’s happening in the West Philippine, the South China Sea, but it should be “The Bases of Our Insecurity”.
“We want to protect our fisherfolk. The right to fish in the West Philippine Sea. We assert our independence. We assert our right,” she said.
“It’s time for the Philippines to pursue a truly independent foreign policy, free from entanglements with any big powers,” she added.
Nemenzo said that the Philippines should oppose war and foreign military bases.
Fabros said that the presence of foreign military bases undermines Philippine efforts to uphold peace, national sovereignty and stability.
She said that the Philippines should focus on building self-reliant national defense capabilities rather than aligning with any major power bloc, in order to avoid getting into wars.
She added that the Philippines must avoid becoming a pawn in potential proxy wars by the superpowers.
The panelists appealed for a shift towards a foreign policy that is independent and neutral, urging the Philippine government to avoid becoming embroiled in the power dynamics of global superpowers.
They stressed that the importance of strengthening national defense through local capabilities, rather than relying on external military forces, which
they argued only serve to escalate tensions and increase the risk of the Philippines becoming a battleground in superpower conflicts.
The speakers reiterated that pursuing an independent stance, free from the influence of competing global powers, is crucial to ensuring the country’s long-term peace, stability, and sovereignty.
The Bases of Our Insecurity will soon be available in major bookstores nationwide and online, offering an in-depth exploration of the critical issues surrounding foreign military presence and its implications for Philippine national security.
Prof. Simbulan is a distinguished academic and author specializing in Philippine foreign policy, national security, USA-Philippine relations and international relations.
He has written extensively on the impact of foreign military bases on Philippine sovereignty and security. He is also Trustee of the think tank called Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG).
Nemenzo is an activist known for her advocacy in anti-war movements and women’s health issues. She has been a leading voice in civil society efforts to promote peace and oppose foreign military intervention. She is also an educator.
Fabros is the Co-President of the International Peace Bureau (IPB), a Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization dedicated to disarmament and peacebuilding.
“We are seeing NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) forces coming into the country. There is the ‘Rim of the Pacific’ (Indo-Pacific) military exercises. It’s going to be done until August 2. It’s going to be with 29 countries. The delegation will just be observing. There will be 29,000 troops in the military exercises in Hawaii, United States. 35 percent of the 29,000 troops will be coming from Europe,” Fabros said.
“There are now 29 million gallons of fuel that have been stored in Subic. What is that for?” she added.
Fabros is a prominent advocate for international peace and the elimination of foreign military bases. She is also Trustee of Peace Women Partners.
JTR Reports 070224--MHE
