(BGF) – In a move to defend its territory against China, the Philippines administration had an agreement that will allow more US troops to rotate through Philippine military bases, the Philippine’s Manila Standard Today News reported on August 14.  As the Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said, this action is to “defend what is ours, to secure our nation and to keep our people safe”.
Will this be a smart move?

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Dangerous waters

August 14, 2013

(MST News) – WHAT is the administration’s game plan as it heads into talks with the Americans to hammer out a new agreement that will allow more US troops to rotate through Philippine military bases?

(Photo Credit: The Manila Standard Today News)

The immediate goal, Foreign Affairs officials say, is to bring about an increase in the American presence here amid China’s growing aggressiveness in staking its claim to portions of the South China Sea that rightly belong to us.

“Our region needs to know that we are steadfastly for peace, but that we stand ready to tap every resource, to call on every alliance, to do what is necessary, to defend what is ours, to secure our nation and to keep our people safe,” said Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario.

The larger American presence in the Philippines, Del Rosario added, would serve as an added deterrent against foreign intrusions into the country’s territorial waters while the ill-equipped Armed Forces tries to modernize.

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