US naval carrier in Manila for goodwill visit

A United States naval carrier fleet docked in Manila on Saturday for a four-day goodwill visit. While the government said the visit reaffirms vibrant bilateral RP-US ties, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) assailed it as a sign of intervention. "The visit is a reaffirmation of the vibrant bilateral ties between the Philippines and the United States, and is expected to be a boon to local economy, particularly to the tourism sector," the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on its website. In the article, the DFA said the USS George Washington Naval Carrier Fleet will dock at the Manila Bay, near the SM Mall of Asia, for command level visits, routine ship replenishment, maintenance of shipboard systems and crew liberty. The DFA said, Philippine Navy officers will welcome the fleet which is made up of four ships – aircraft carrier USS George Washington, cruiser USS Cowpens, and destroyers USS John S. McCain and the USS McCampbell – manned by some 7,000 crew members. This will be the second time the fleet visited the country since August 2009. The crew will conduct community relations activities, which include painting of school buildings and hospital wards, medical missions and band concerts starting September 5, it added. "During its visit last year, around US$7 million were spent in hotel bookings, sight-seeing, shopping and other activities. Some of the crew's family members also visited the country to meet up with their loved ones," the DFA said.
Meanwhile, the CPP said the docking of the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is "a grave insult and affront on Philippine sovereignty." "This signals intensified US military intervention in local counter-insurgency operations and emphasizes the use of the country as a base for the asserting of US might in the region," said the CPP in its website. "Behind all their 'goodwill visits' and participation in 'socio-civic activities,' US forces are insidiously carrying out military intervention, including satellite and electronic surveillance against the revolutionary forces, advising and participating in counter-guerrilla operations in the field, provision of military war materiel and training of puppet military forces," it added. It said the USS George Washington docked in Manila just over three weeks ago, ostensibly for a goodwill visit. The CPP anticipates the docking of more US warships in the Philippines, claiming this was discussed by US State Department officials and Philippine President Benigno Aquino III last June. "[US military advisers are to] feel out the new security and defense officials of the Aquino regime, consult and advise the Philippine government on the conduct and progress of its 'counter-insurgency' operations. The US advisers are focused on helping design the next internal security operational plan of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) under the new puppet regime to succeed the Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) that has been extended from its original deadline last June, pending the issuance of a new plan by the start of 2011," it added. "US military officials are also in the Philippines to get assurances from the new puppet government that it will not cause the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA)," the CPP said. Also, it stressed the docking of nuclear-powered US warships also violates a provision of the 1987 Constitution. The CPP called on patriotic and freedom-loving Filipino people to take the Aquino regime to task for allowing US interventionism in the Philippines. — LBG, GMANews.TV