No War in Our Name: Expose and Oppose the Imperialist Trilateral Summit!
12 April 2024
BAYAN denounces President Marcos Jr.’s craven submission to the United States (US) proxy war plan for Asia dubbed as the Indo-Pacific Strategy against China as shown once more in the US-Japan-Philippines Trilateral Summit held yesterday (11 April) in Washington, D.C.
The summit is a component of Biden’s plan to strengthen U.S. economic, political and military dominance in Asia by piecing together pre-existing bilateral alliances into so-called “minilaterals,” Among these “minilaterals” include the reinforcement of post-war US Global Counterinsurgency through the 1951 US-Ph Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), the mother treaty that enables all colonial and unequal US-Ph military agreements such as the Mutual Logistics and Support Agreement (MLSA), Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). The summit invokes the MDT to justify intensified US -Japan military encroachment in the Philippines. Biden and Kishida commit to “stand shoulder to shoulder with Marcos” purportedly to fight “China’s armed attacks on Philippine Armed Forces, Coast Guard anywhere in the South China Sea.” Clearly, US and Japan imperialism mean war with China at the expense of the Filipino people.
Now known to the world as “Genocide Joe” for his crucial role in the horrific war on Palestinians, Biden’s “pivot to Asia” is undeniably about selling another regional war. A similar summit with South Korea and Japan was held last year to pin down North Korea as the “enemy.” The US-led Trilateral Summit once again summoned Japan, its junior imperialist partner in Asia, to formalize and upgrade its military commitments with the US in the latter’s goal to encircle China through a hybrid war that involves maximum use of Artificial Intelligence, space exploration and state-of-the art naval and air military technology, including a network system of air missile and defense architecture. All of this takes place in Asia but even more abundantly in Philippine territory as Marcos Jr. willingly cedes national sovereignty to the nation’s former colonizers.
The so-called “Luzon Corridor” practically turns the country’s biggest island into an EDCA site servicing thousands of foreign troops at any given time. It is purported to be an economic zone but it is linked to the installation of EDCA sites and the repurposing of Subic and Clark into military hubs for joint exercises with foreign troops. Luzon has four EDCA sites, Balikatan exercises are done in several provinces of the island, Subic and Clark are former US military bases in Luzon. The unveiling of “Luzon Corridor” during the trilateral summit signals the intensified foreign military buildup in the island.
The summit also mentioned the aid packages for EDCA and the preposition of relief goods for EDCA-hosting communities. EDCA is set to expire this year, but the Marcos Jr government is bent on extending this de facto basing agreement despite the threats posed by foreign military bases on our national security, including their grave impact on local livelihoods.
The summit offered a set of investments intended for the Philippines but this should be seen in the context of increased foreign military intervention and the warmongering of the US-led coalition. We cannot be grateful for the investment pledges that are being dangled before us if the same sponsor is also bringing in weapons of mass destruction and is seeking to build military outposts across the country.
We condemn Marcos Jr’s double talk that pretends to protect our rightful claim on the West Philippine Sea and the Spratlys against Chinese aggression as he submits to US-Japan military muscle flexing and war mongering under the guise of regional cooperation and peace. Such actions go against the peoples of Asia’s shared aspiration for liberation, national sovereignty, genuine economic and social development and peace.
No war in our name!
Expose and oppose the imperialist Trilateral Summit!
Junk the Mutual Defense Treaty! Junk EDCA! Junk VFA!
Uphold national sovereignty against all imperialist encroachment!
#JunkEDCA #JunkVFA #AtinAngPinas
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