Suspension of VFA termination ‘sound, strategic’: solon

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the suspension of the termination of the VFA was extended “to find a more enhanced, mutually beneficial, mutually agreeable, and more effective and lasting arrangement”. (PNA file photo)

MANILA – A lawmaker on Friday said the government’s decision to extend the suspension of the Visiting Forces Agreement’s (VFA) abrogation was “sound and strategic”, considering the outcome of the United States elections.

Muntinlupa City Rep. Ruffy Biazon said the recent move would give time for the new US administration to settle in and possibly pursue talks with the Philippines on issues concerning the VFA.

“The impending change in administration in the US offers the Philippines an opportunity to engage the new administration and discuss concerns pertaining to the PH-US relationship and come to a refresh or reboot of security arrangements in the Region,” Biazon said.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the suspension of the termination of the VFA was extended “to find a more enhanced, mutually beneficial, mutually agreeable, and more effective and lasting arrangement”.

“This shows that the Philippines is serious in coming up with an agreement which is strong in upholding peace and order in the areas around the West Philippine Sea (WPS) but sensitive to the interests of both countries and consistent with mutuality,” Biazon said.

Biazon said the Philippines is in the middle of the area covered by the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) Strategy of the United States, giving it a strategic value to the US, which in turn makes a defense and security agreement between the two countries desirable.

“I don’t see the US changing FOIP Strategy even with a change in administration. It is a national defense and national security issue to them, which usually remains geared towards a specific strategic direction regardless of the party in power,” Biazon said.

He pointed out that President-elect Joe Biden mentioned his desire to reinforce and strengthen alliances with Australia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea to maintain a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region when he took part in separate congratulatory calls from the leaders of the three nations.

The Philippine government has extended the suspension of the VFA abrogation for another six months.

In a video message informing White House National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, Locsin noted that the South China Sea has changed in the past four years “from one of uncertainty about great powers’ intentions to one of predictability and resulting stability with regard to what can and cannot be done.”

He attributed the renewal of stability and security in the region to the efforts displayed by both Washington DC and Manila.

“A great deal of credit for the renewal of stability and security goes to deft diplomacy and equivocal expressions of policy, sturdy postures of strength combined with unfailing tact and pragmatic national security advice exhibited by both our governments in the same period,” Locsin said.