No timetable for US troops’ presence in RP — envoy
By Michaela P. del Callar 10/05/2010The United States will agree to any Philippine government plan to review a defense treaty allowing American military presence in the country, Ambassador Harry Thomas yesterday said, but added US troops would remain as long as the government wants them to help fight continuing terror threats.
Thomas also stressed that Ame-rican troops have not engaged in local combat and that Washington has no plans to reopen US military bases in the country — both are banned by the Philippine Constitution.
Some Filipino senators have sought a review of the Visiting Forces Agreement, which the Philippine Senate ratified in 1999, eight years after the closure of US military bases in the Philippines.
The VFA came under fire when the American Embassy won custody of a US Marine accused of raping a Filipina in 2006. Left-wing groups demanded the abrogation of the VFA, prompting senators to take a second look at the treaty, particularly a provision which specifies which of the two allied countries should take custody of any soldier who would face local prosecution for any crime..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20101005hed3.html
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