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.