RP, U.S. struggle to repair strained ties

RP, U.S. struggle to repair strained ties

Agencies, Manila

Attempts to patch up frayed relations between the Philippines and
the United States suffered a setback on Monday when Washington
rejected a prepared joint statement as "too friendly", a
Philippine official said.

The statement was meant for release after Francis Ricciardone,
the U.S. ambassador, met the Philippine foreign minister to
discuss relations after Manila's controversial withdrawal from
Iraq last month.

It was his first official meeting with foreign ministry
officials since returning to Manila last week after consultations
in Washington.

"The Americans found the statement too friendly," said the
senior official, who asked not to be identified.

Washington has repeatedly voiced its disappointment since
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered home the
country's 51-member humanitarian team to save a Filipino trucker
from being executed by Iraqi militants.

"I won't suggest that nothing has happened," Ricciardone told
a briefing after an hour-long meeting with Foreign Secretary
Delia Albert.

"We did have a very serious disagreement. It is one that we
think has had a decided impact on our relations with the
Philippines."

But he added the United States is "going to work as hard as we
can on all things that are important to both our countries".

Albert said relations remained strong.

"Our relations go beyond any disagreements we may have had
over the issue of Iraq," she said in a statement.

"Our relations continue to be strong because of the deep
respect we have for each other."

The newly appointed Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia, Shulan
O. Primavera, said on Monday that both countries had suffered ups
and downs in their relations, but he was confident from past
experiences that they would both find agreeable solutions.

"This issue will be a litmus test for the 'love-hate'
relationship between the U.S. and the Philippines like in 1991
when the Philippines Senate threw out U.S. military bases," he
told The Jakarta Post in Jakarta. He was referring to the Clark
Air Force Base and Subic Naval Base which are no longer
operating.

But another Philippine official said in Manila that Washington
could still take action against its Asian ally.

"We are not off the hook yet," the foreign ministry official
said. "They could still impose sanctions quietly. They don't have
to announce it in public that they are retaliating."

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, an Arroyo ally and head of
the Philippine Senate's committee on foreign relations, said the
government should prepare for security and economic sanctions.

"That's the way international politics is played," she told
reporters.

She suggested Manila should cultivate relations with other
regional states. "The Philippines is too dependent on its trade
relations with the United States," she said.

An American colony for the first half of the 20th century, the
Philippines receives the biggest U.S. security aid package in
Asia to help it fight Muslim rebels in the country's south and
communist insurgents across the archipelago.

Last year, Washington classified Manila as a major non-NATO
ally, expanding security and military partnerships in training
and logistics and allowing Manila to acquire weapons and
munitions.

The United States is also Manila's largest trading partner and
a major source of development assistance after Japan.