US-Philippines military exercise back on after US marine's transfer
The United States annual joint military exercises with the Philippines, which were cancelled last month, are now back on schedule, the US embassy and Philippine foreign department said.
The decision to resume the joint exercises comes after a US marine, convicted of raping a Filipina woman in Subic, was moved from a suburban Manila jail to the custody of the US embassy, as the US government had demanded.
Earlier, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said her government was pressured into handing over the marine, Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, to American diplomats to stop bilateral relations from worsening.
Arroyo, in her first public statement since Smith was transferred to US embassy custody on Friday, said the move would not "impede justice and the rule of law."
"The government had to take this action in order to forestall the further deterioration in our strategic relationship with the United States, which was being rapidly eroded by our non-compliance with the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA)," Arroyo said in a statement.
The VFA is a 1998 treaty that gives US authorities legal jurisdiction over American soldiers who commit crimes while on official tour in the former American colony.
"This difficult decision was made and taken with only the best interest of the Philippines in mind," Arroyo said, urging Filipinos to "stand behind our alliance with the United States to fight terror and poverty."
Smith was convicted in December of raping a Filipina woman, identified only as Nicole to protect her privacy, while on leave from joint war games in the northern port of Subic. Three other US marines were acquitted.
Washington demanded Smith be turned over to its embassy, citing the VFA. But the Manila court which tried the case rejected that argument, stressing that rape was a "heinous" and non-bailable crime here. It subsequently denied a request from Washington for custody of Smith and the case is on appeal.
Amid the controversy, Washington last month called off annual joint war games with the Philippines, which it considers a key non- NATO ally in Southeast Asia.
The decision to resume the joint exercises comes after a US marine, convicted of raping a Filipina woman in Subic, was moved from a suburban Manila jail to the custody of the US embassy, as the US government had demanded.
Earlier, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said her government was pressured into handing over the marine, Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, to American diplomats to stop bilateral relations from worsening.
Arroyo, in her first public statement since Smith was transferred to US embassy custody on Friday, said the move would not "impede justice and the rule of law."
"The government had to take this action in order to forestall the further deterioration in our strategic relationship with the United States, which was being rapidly eroded by our non-compliance with the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA)," Arroyo said in a statement.
The VFA is a 1998 treaty that gives US authorities legal jurisdiction over American soldiers who commit crimes while on official tour in the former American colony.
"This difficult decision was made and taken with only the best interest of the Philippines in mind," Arroyo said, urging Filipinos to "stand behind our alliance with the United States to fight terror and poverty."
Smith was convicted in December of raping a Filipina woman, identified only as Nicole to protect her privacy, while on leave from joint war games in the northern port of Subic. Three other US marines were acquitted.
Washington demanded Smith be turned over to its embassy, citing the VFA. But the Manila court which tried the case rejected that argument, stressing that rape was a "heinous" and non-bailable crime here. It subsequently denied a request from Washington for custody of Smith and the case is on appeal.
Amid the controversy, Washington last month called off annual joint war games with the Philippines, which it considers a key non- NATO ally in Southeast Asia.
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
7:40 AM
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