PHNO-HL: AQUINO'S 1st WHITE HOUSE OBAMA MEET / AQUINO, OBAMA TACKLE CHINA

AQUINO'S 1st WHITE HOUSE OBAMA MEET / AQUINO,
OBAMA TACKLE CHINA


[OBAMA-AQUINO FIRST MEETING AT UNITED
NATIONS]
WASHINGTON, JUNE 8, 2012 (ABS-CBN) By Rodney Jaleco, ABS-CBN North
America News Bureau - HIGHLIGHTS: Visit shores up historic
US-Philippines alliance. Aquino has eye on territorial
dispute with China. US helps Manila's defense build-up,
seeks no bases.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino arrived in the United States
on Wednesday for a visit that will highlight the Southeast Asian archipelago's
growing importance in U.S. strategic thinking, as the White House "pivots" to
Asia and both countries worry about China's intentions.
Aquino, well-regarded by the U.S. government, not least for his battles
against corruption, is being accorded a White House meeting on Friday with
President Barack Obama.
That meeting comes as Washington has begun helping Manila beef up its modest
military capacities in the face of a confrontation with China over contested
South China Sea reefs.
The United States, colonial ruler of the Philippines from 1898-1946 and a
treaty ally with Manila since 1951, has embraced the Philippines as part of a
policy that makes the Asia-Pacific region the center of U.S. security and
economic strategy.
"The meeting between President Aquino and President Obama will lay the
groundwork for the future of the strategic partnership between the Philippines
and the United States," said Jose Cuisia, the Philippines ambassador in
Washington.
Aquino will also meet senior U.S. lawmakers for "discussions on our bilateral
economic and defense cooperation, the shift in the focus of the United States
toward the Asia-Pacific and ways to revitalize our alliance," the envoy said in
a statement.
Washington's "rebalancing" of forces to the Asia-Pacific region, a post-Cold
War strategy two decades in the making, has accelerated under the Obama
administration as a response to China's rapid military modernization and growing
assertiveness in that region.
A U.S. official said Washington saw Aquino as a leader who is "trying to do
the right thing" to tackle the corruption, cronyism and red tape that have held
back the economy of his nation of 93 million people.
But the United States is moving cautiously in solidifying defense ties with
Manila. The Philippines evicted the U.S. military from Naval Station Subic Bay
in 1992, and nationalist sentiment remains high.
No new US bases
Even as it fought wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States kept more
than 70,000 troops in a network of military bases in Japan and South Korea that
date back to the 1950s.
The Obama policy has focused on Southeast Asia and crafting flexible
arrangements with other allies in Asia, Australia and the Philippines, and ship
visits to Singapore and Vietnam.
No new U.S. bases are envisioned under this scheme, although 2,500 U.S.
troops will rotate through and train in Darwin, Australia. Any new arrangements
with the Philippines would be smaller than the Australian program, U.S.
officials say.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last weekend the Pentagon will
reposition its naval fleet so 60 percent of its battleships are in the
Asia-Pacific region by the end of the decade, up from about 50 percent now. The
move drew a pledge from China's People's Liberation Army to increase its
vigilance.
In upgrading its military capability to protect its interests in disputed
areas of the South China Sea, Manila has been looking to Washington for ships,
aircraft and surveillance and equipment to build a credible defense posture.

After high-level bilateral security and diplomatic talks in late April, the
Obama administration pledged to increase its annual foreign military sales
program to the Philippines to $30 million, about three times the level of the
2011 program.
"We've been working with the Philippines on military modernization for 12 or
13 years, very intensively," said Walter Lohman, a Southeast Asia expert at the
Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank.
"The only thing that has changed is the urgency of this and the seriousness
the Philippines has shown under the Aquino administration," he said.
US balancing act
Manila's new urgency stems from a months-long showdown with China at the
Scarborough Shoal, a horse-shoe shaped reef near the Philippines in waters both
countries claim.
The United States is formally neutral on South China Sea territorial issues,
complex disputes which also pit China against Vietnam and other Southeast Asian
nations.
Washington, however, has promoted multilateral diplomacy to handle the
disputes - challenging China's insistence on bilateral talks with its weaker
neighbors.
"The United States has the dilemma of balancing the many, many vital
interests we have in our relations with China, with our interests in Southeast
Asia and it really is a balancing act," said Southeast Asia security expert Don
Weatherbee.
Weatherbee, emeritus professor at the University of South Carolina, said that
while Manila could not expect a "blank check" from Washington in a territorial
conflict with Beijing, U.S. credibility would face scrutiny.
"It's not just a question of U.S.-Philippines relations. It's a question of
the American security guarantee in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific and what is
actually meant by the word guarantee," he said.
This week's meetings in Washington will also take up the prospect of the
Philippines joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade pact in the Asia
Pacific region with nine members that is also examining applications by Japan,
Canada and Mexico. (Additional reporting by Andrew Quinn and
Manuel Mogato in Manila and David Alexander in Singapore; editing by Todd
Eastham)
FROM INQUIRER
Aquino, Obama to tackle China; US President plays host at
Oval Office By Daxim L. Lucas Philippine Daily Inquirer
11:59 pm | Thursday, June 7th, 2012


[PHOTO -ROUSING WELCOME President Aquino waves to members of the
Filipino-American community upon his arrival from London on Wednesday night
(Thursday morning in Manila) at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland for an
official working visit to the United States. EDWIN
BACASMAS]
WASHINGTON—President Benigno Aquino arrived here on Wednesday night (Thursday
morning in Manila) for a visit that will highlight the Philippines' growing
importance in American strategic thinking as the United States "pivots" to Asia
and both countries worry about China's intentions.
US President Barack Obama will receive Mr. Aquino at the Oval Office on
Friday afternoon (Saturday morning in Manila) for discussions expected to center
on China's increasing aggressiveness in the West Philippine Sea (South China
Sea).
A day before Mr. Aquino's arrival in the US capital, the US Senate passed a
resolution calling for increased American defense and security cooperation with
the Philippines, including support for the modernization of the Philippine
military.
A US official said Washington saw Mr. Aquino as a leader who was "trying to
do the right thing" to tackle the corruption, cronyism and red tape that have
held back the economy of his nation of 93 million people.
Mr. Aquino's plane—a chartered Philippine Airlines Airbus A340—landed at
Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland at 8:19 p.m. Eastern time (8:19 a.m. Thursday
in Manila) from London's Heathrow Airport.
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Cuisia Jr., embassy staff
members and a throng of well-wishers from the Filipino-American community in
Washington welcomed Mr. Aquino.
Instead of boarding the presidential limousine after the reception of the
honor guard, Mr. Aquino walked straight to meet his supporters at the edge of
the tarmac, sending US Secret Service agents and official vehicles scrambling
after him.
US Air Force personnel said it was "uncommon" for heads of state to approach
well-wishers, with most boarding their vehicles at the foot of the ramp.
Mr. Aquino's gesture sent his welcomers cheering. "We love you, P-Noy," some
shouted. "Mabuhay si P-Noy," others cheered. (P-Noy is the president's moniker.)

First White House meet
The President and Obama have met four times over the last two years, but
never in the White House. This is the first time that the US leader is
officially playing host to Mr. Aquino.
The meeting at the Oval Office will lay the groundwork for the future of the
strategic partnership between the Philippines and the United States, Ambassador
Cuisia said.
He said the two leaders would discuss global, regional and domestic issues,
including those affecting bilateral relations.
"They will also be covering more specifically military and security
cooperation, economic cooperation, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,
people-to-people exchanges or people-to-people ties," Cuisia said in an
interview.
"But they will also, I'm sure, be talking about the West Philippine Sea as
part of the maritime security discussions," he said.
Mr. Aquino will also meet senior US lawmakers for "discussions on our
bilateral economic and defense cooperation, the shift in the focus of the United
States toward the Asia-Pacific and ways to revitalize our alliance," Cuisia said
in a statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila.
Senate resolution
On Tuesday, the US Senate passed Resolution No. 481 calling for increased
defense and security cooperation with the Philippines. The measure was sponsored
by Senator Richard Lugar in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Mutual
Defense Treaty between the Philippines and the United States.
Senators John Kerry, James Inhofe, Jim Webb, Kelly Ayotte, Tad Cochran and
Daniel Inouye also sponsored the resolution. They called on Manila and
Washington to continue high-level consultations.
The DFA statement quoted Cuisia as saying that the Senate resolution "calls
for increased cooperation and enhanced bilateral security ties between the two
countries, including support for Philippine defense modernization, the
rotational presence of US forces and increased humanitarian and disaster relief
preparedness."
"It also urged Washington to continue its efforts to assist Manila in the
areas of maritime security, maritime domain awareness, humanitarian assistance
and disaster relief and related communications infrastructure to enable enhanced
information sharing and overall military professionalism," Cuisia said.
Importance of alliance
"This is a very positive development that further underscores the importance
the United States places on its alliance with the Philippines," he said. "The
Filipino people greatly appreciate this gesture by our friends in the United
States."
Washington's "rebalancing" of forces to the Asia-Pacific region, a post-Cold
War strategy two decades in the making, has accelerated under the Obama
administration in response to China's rapid military modernization and growing
assertiveness in the region.
60% of naval fleet
The Obama policy has focused on Southeast Asia and crafting flexible
arrangements with other allies in Asia, Australia and the Philippines, and ship
visits to Singapore and Vietnam.
No new US bases are envisioned, although 2,500 US troops will rotate through
and train in Darwin, Australia. Any new arrangements with the Philippines would
be smaller than the Australian program, US officials said.
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said at a security forum in Singapore last
weekend that the United States would reposition its naval fleet so 60 percent of
its battleships would be in the Asia-Pacific by the end of the decade, up from
about 50 percent now.
The plan drew a pledge from China's People's Liberation Army to increase its
vigilance.
In upgrading its military capability to protect its interest in disputed
areas of the West Philippine Sea, Manila has been looking to Washington for
ships, aircraft and surveillance equipment to build a credible defense posture.

New urgency
After high-level bilateral security and diplomatic talks in late April, the
Obama administration pledged to increase its annual foreign military sales to
the Philippines to $30 million, about three times the level of the 2011 program.

"We've been working with the Philippines on military modernization for 12 or
13 years, very intensively," said Walter Lohman, a Southeast Asia expert at
Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank.
"The only thing that has changed is the urgency of this and the seriousness
the Philippines has shown under the Aquino administration," he said.
Manila's new urgency stems from a standoff with China at the Scarborough
Shoal, a horseshoe-shaped reef near the Philippines in waters both countries
claim. Since April 8, two Philippine civilian vessels have been facing off with
nearly 100 Chinese vessels at the shoal.
Discussions between Mr. Aquino and Obama are expected to touch on the
standoff.
US investors
On Thursday morning (Friday night in Manila), Mr. Aquino will meet US
businessmen and prospective investors at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
Among those who will be present are top officials of power firm Sithe Global,
which operates two 300-megawatt coal-fired power plants in Mariveles, Bataan;
Denham Capital, a private equity firm specializing in energy and commodity
investments; and electricity generation firm GN Power.
Mr. Aquino will also meet with officials of Underwriters Laboratories, the
company that uses the "UL" trademark, specializing in the testing of electronic
products, in the hope of enticing them to set up operations in the Philippines.

At 11 a.m., he will be interviewed by senior editors of Washington Post,
after which he will proceed to the Quantico Marine Corps base in Virginia, which
also houses the training facilities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Cuisia said at least one Philippine law enforcer was currently undergoing
training at the FBI Academy, and that Mr. Aquino hoped to convince the US
government to increase the number of slots allotted to Filipino police trainees.

US lawmakers
Mr. Aquino will meet US senators led by Inouye, the deputy Senate president
and chair of the powerful appropriations committee.
"These senators are, of course, interested in the broad relationship between
the Philippines and the United States," Cuisia said.
"But more specifically, they also have expressed interest in what's going on
in the West Philippine Sea. They would like to listen to our President and find
out what are the current developments in the West Philippine Sea."
On Thursday night, Mr. Aquino will grace the dinner launch of the new lobby
group US-Philippines Society. With reports from Tina G. Santos and AP
Obama meets Philippine President Friday 8 June
2012
White House, Washington, United States 1 day from now Published: 4 Jun 2012 |
By Anneand 1 other | Last updated: 4 Jun 2012
[PHOTO- President Barack Obama]
US President Barack Obama meets Philippine President Benigno Aquino III to
discuss the relationship between the two countries.
The meeting, which is a part of Aquino's trip to the US, focuses particularly
on the economic, strategic and person to person ties. Moreover, the two
Presidents will discuss ways to deepen bilateral cooperation and the
collaboration in the Asia-Pacific region.
Before the meeting, Aquino III visited the UK to talk with the British Prime
Minister, David Cameron, and several top British investors.
Recently, the US government started focusing on the Asia-Pacific area by
extending its ties with several countries in the economically important region.

On May 2, the US Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, revealed America's
future military plans in the Asia-Pacific region.



Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi

© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
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