Planong pagpapatayo ng US ng isang pasilidad sa Mindanao, kinondena ng Bayan Muna

KINONDENA ng Bayan Muna ang naiulat na planong pagpapatayo ng US ng isang pasilidad sa Mindanao.

Reaksyon ito ni dating Bayan Muna Congressman at human rights lawyer Carlos Isagani Zarate sa ulat na plano ng United States government na magpatayo ng Defense Fuel Support Point (DFSP) sa loob ng hurisdiksyon ng Davao City.

Nagbabala ito na ang proyekto ay magsisilbi umanong daan para maging isang logistics hub ang rehiyon ng US.

“The establishment of a US Defense Fuel Support Point in Mindanao is a brazen violation of our constitutionally enshrined policy of an independent foreign policy and a nuclear-free, foreign military-base free Philippines,” ani Zarate.
“This is not about ‘humanitarian assistance’ or ‘disaster response’ — this is about stockpiling fuel for warships and aircraft to ensure quick US military projection into the Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea.”

Aniya, ang planong DFSP ay bahagi ng malawak umanong stratehiya ng US para makapagpatayo ng military logistics facilities sa rehiyon.

Sinabi nito na maba-bypass umano nito ang 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) at 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sa pamamagitan ng pagbuo ng de facto permanent American military infrastructure sa ilalim ng ibang pangalan.
“The Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea are critical chokepoints for US military logistics. A fuel storage facility in Davao City or elsewhere in Mindanao gives the US Navy and US Air Force immediate access to these waters — not for Philippine defense, but for US hegemonic operations in the South China Sea and beyond. This makes Mindanao a target in the event of a major power conflict,” dagdag nito.

Nagpahayag din nang pagka-alarma ang dating mambabatas sa magiging environmental at security risks nito.

“Mindanaoans still remember the 2006 Guimaras oil spill caused by a Petron chartered vessel — a fraction of what a military fuel storage facility could spill. A DFSP places coastal communities, fisheries, and marine biodiversity in constant danger. It also invites pre-emptive strikes from hostile forces in any future confrontation.”

Nanawagan naman si Zarate sa gobyerno ng Pilipinas kabilang na ang mga kaukulang LGUs, na ibasura ang anumang panukala para sa DFSP, at ilabas ng buo sa publiko ang ginaganap na negosasyon sa US military officials.

“The Marcos Jr. administration must stop hiding behind EDCA and immediately scrap any secret or informal agreement allowing a US fuel depot in Mindanao. The people of Mindanao have not forgotten the bloody history of US military intervention in the region. We will not allow our soil to become a fuel depot for a foreign empire’s war machine,” pagtatapos ni Zarate.
(Vina de Guzman)