國防合作合憲 美軍將重回菲律賓○自由(2016.01.02)

【Comment】

美中一輪角力！

國防合作合憲 美軍將重回菲律賓○自由(2016.01.02)

〔編譯周虹汶／綜合報導〕菲律賓最高法院十二日裁定，菲國與美國《強化國防合作協議》（ＥＤＣＡ）合憲，毋須再經過國會同意。這項結果為美軍更大規模進駐菲國一事正式鋪路，有助兩國共同因應在南海日益引發緊張情勢的中國。

菲國最高法院發言人戴酈生（Theodore Te）指出，該協議「不過是落實現行法律與條約」，大法官以十比四認定菲國總統艾奎諾三世政府有權簽署此「行政協議」，毋須參議院同意，反對菲國國會議員聲稱「ＥＤＣＡ違憲」的主張。美國駐菲國首都馬尼拉大使館隨後也發布聲明表示歡迎，並強調ＥＤＣＡ是個「互利協定」。

在美國當前擺向亞太的「再平衡」戰略加持下，這樁二○一四年四月由美國總統歐巴馬親訪艾奎諾三世敲定的ＥＤＣＡ十年協議，有助美軍輪調部隊及使用菲國軍事基地，未來美軍將可駐紮在菲國基地內，也能進駐更多的戰機與戰艦。菲律賓則能透過美國幫助取得更多武器或建造軍事設施。就算艾奎諾三世六月底即將卸任，下屆政府依然有義務執行這項協議。

菲律賓一八九八年至一九四六年是美國殖民地，雙方一九五一年簽署《美菲共同防禦條約》，還有一九九八年《訪問部隊協定》允許兩國軍隊舉行聯合軍事演習。美國在冷戰期間於菲國呂宋島的蘇比克灣軍港與克拉克空軍基地打造美國在海外最大的海空軍基地，但一九九二年因菲人反美情緒，而被菲國參議院終止租約。

菲國左翼人士雷耶斯（Renato Reyes）則揚言提起上訴，認為美軍入駐無助南海領土爭議，還可能危及菲國主權，「ＥＤＣＡ非中國侵略的解決之道」。儘管ＥＤＣＡ簽署曾遭不少團體杯葛，歐巴馬當時保證，當地飛機跑道與軍港等軍事設施都將繼續在「菲律賓掌控之下」。至於美軍在菲國基地內放置的設備，也有助於美軍更快動員，協助菲國因應如颱風等天災。

Philippine Court Upholds New US Defense Pact○The Diplomat(2016.01.12)

The Philippine Supreme Court finally declared that a new defense pact signed between the Philippines and the United States nearly two years earlier is constitutional, local media outlets reported Tuesday.

The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) – a pact inked in April 2014 between Washington and Manila that, among other things, would give U.S. troops and equipment wide access to Philippine military bases on a rotational basis – has been languishing in the face of a constitutional challenge in the Southeast Asian state.  Though Philippine officials had been assuring outside observers that EDCA’s approval was a question of when rather than if, several deadlines had passed without a ruling into 2016.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court finally voted 10-4 to uphold the constitutionality of the agreement.  Four justices – Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Arturo Brion, Teresita Leonardo-De Castro and Marvic Leonen – dissented from the ruling, while Francis Jardeleza inhibited.

With that, the Court resolved the most contentious concern by opponents of the pact: that EDCA is actually a new treaty that requires Senate concurrence by a two-thirds majority, rather than an executive agreement in line with the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty as the administration of Philippine president Benigno Aquino III has been arguing.

As I have argued previously, the approval is a significant development both for the Philippines itself as well as the U.S.-Philippine alliance (See: “Will the Philippines Approve a New US Defense Pact Ahead of Obama Visit?”).  Resolving constitutionality issues around EDCA would allow defense officials to begin actually implementing arrangements – ranging from the construction of facilities to the prepositioning of defense equipment – that they have long been talking about.  Getting that groundwork in place as soon as possible will be crucial as the Aquino administration which inked the agreement will soon be leaving office following upcoming presidential elections in May.

More specifically, these steps are vital to giving the Philippines – still one of Asia’s weakest militaries – what defense planners call ‘minimum credible deterrence’ in the face of a variety of threats including China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea (See: “The Truth About Philippine Military Modernization and the China Threat).  With a ruling expected on the Philippine case against China in the South China Sea later this year, there is no telling how Beijing will react and Manila will need to be prepared for any fallout.

The Supreme Court’s decision is also a relief for the U.S.-Philippine alliance.  Even if most had expected EDCA to eventually go through, legislative tests on U.S.-Philippine questions only conjure up nightmares of September 1991 when the Philippine Senate voted to end U.S. military presence in the country in a razor-thin 12-11 vote.

Timing-wise, the decision also usefully comes just as the two countries are set to begin their official ‘two plus two’ ministerial talks in Washington on Tuesday.  The talks, which will see Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Ash Carter meet with their counterparts, are expected to deal with regional security issues including the South China Sea and future U.S. military assistance to the Philippines.  With the EDCA issue now all but resolved, both sides can both symbolically send strong signal about the alliance’s credibility and more substantively discuss next steps in defense cooperation.