đź“·Bagong Alyansang Makabayan | FB
The US and Philippine governments are set to talk about military exercises and weapons procurement at a time when successive typhoons have battered the country.
United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III is visiting the country again to ensure the continued expansion of US military basing in the country as the US transitions to the Trump administration next year.
Austin’s visit is a reminder that the US is more interested in protecting its security interests rather than allowing the Marcos Jr. government to focus on relief and disaster response efforts.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan describes the visit as opportunistic and callous to the plight of hundreds of thousands of Filipinos still reeling from the typhoon disasters. The US government is clearly more keen on entrenching its military foothold in the country.
Austin’s previous visits facilitated the installation of additional US military facilities, the expansion of joint military exercises, and the deployment of typhon missiles. His mission does not address the security stakes of the Philippines but to advance the geopolitical interests of the US. Foremost of these is to block its rival China by boosting its military presence across the Asia-Pacific, including its military buildup in various parts of the archipelago.
His visit represents a grave threat to peace and stability as the US continues to exploit our maritime dispute with China to justify its provocative military actions and policies in the region.
Austin is expected to reward the corrupt Marcos Jr. government with bigger military aid in exchange for greater US military intervention in our country’s internal affairs. The US supplies the Armed Forces of the Philippines with weapons that are used to attack rural communities as the government continues to wage its brutal counterinsurgency program.
Bayan enjoins our people to protest the deployment of more US troops and weapons and to expose the criminal war record of the incoming Trump presidency. #
