Estrada says U.S. still vital for defense

Estrada says U.S. still vital for defense

MANILA (AP): The Philippines will have to depend on its defense ties to the United States and regional security arrangements until it can develop a credible military, President Joseph Estrada said yesterday.

The country also must strengthen its economy to be able to buy weapons for defense, Estrada said in an address to graduates of the National Defense College.

"In the financial crisis gripping Asia today, our security hinges on the state of our economy," Estrada said.

Estrada said the military can also help in economic recovery by taking on civilian tasks and by helping pursue peace talks with Moslem and Communist rebels.

"I firmly believe that until we develop a credible military deterrent, we must depend on the goodwill of our neighbors, on our treaty commitments with the United States, and on the skills of our diplomats in making everyone know that we in the Philippines want only peace, stability and shared prosperity," he said.

Military ties with the United States have remained a sensitive issue since a nationalist Philippine Senate forced the closure of the last U.S. base in the country in 1992, ending close to a century of American military presence in its former colony.

The United States halted all joint exercises in the Philippines and visits by U.S. military ships in December 1996, when the Manila government ended a legal loophole that had shielded U.S. military personnel from prosecution by the Philippines for crimes committed here.

A Visiting Forces Agreement, signed in February this year by U.S. and Philippine officials, would provide legal protections to U.S. soldiers while on duty in the Philippines.

Critics say the accord limits the Philippine government's right to prosecute American soldiers who commit crimes in the country. It generally gives the United States jurisdiction over soldiers who commit crimes while on duty, and the Philippines jurisdiction over crimes committed while off-duty.

The agreement must be ratified by the Philippine Senate, which has not yet begun deliberations.

Members of the socialist group, Pandayan, rallied at the U.S. Embassy yesterday and questioned whether the agreement would also benefit the Philippines.

"How can we believe that the agreement is 'mutually beneficial' ...when Mr. Clinton admitted having lied to the rest of the world about his extramarital affairs?" the group said in a statement. Many of the demonstrators chanted, "Liar, Liar."