New AFP command, formed on US orders—CPP

CPP Information Bureau

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today criticized the Marcos regime and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for being “utterly subservient to the Americans” for the plan of the AFP to establish a “Strategic Defense Command” within the current year.”

The command will be established to purportedly oversee the hundreds of war games being launched by the US in the Philippines, including the annual Balikatan exercises. This command is said to be formed from the current Education, Training, and Doctrine Command of the AFP, which has long closely adhered to US military doctrines.

“It is clear that the establishment of the AFP’s Strategic Defense Command is focused on the rushed and intensified preparations by the US for war against China,” according to Marco Valbuena, chief information officer of the CPP. “Marcos should be denounced for betraying the Filipino people and being blatantly subservient to the Americans,” explained Valbuena.

“Even now, the U.S. is deliberately intensifying military tensions between itself and China by conducting large-scale war games, positioning long-range and anti-ship missile systems aimed at mainland China, maintaining troops and warships close to Taiwan and disputed formations in the South China Sea, and stockpiling hundreds of weapons, vehicles, and other military equipment in various locations in the Philippines.”

“By establishing this new AFP command, Marcos is allowing American troops to use the Philippines as a launchpad for operations that intensify its conflict with China,” said Valbuena. “Marcos and the AFP are only exposing the Filipino people to certain danger and grave suffering, as the US threatens to ignite a war against its imperialist rival.”

The CPP also criticized the allocation of public funds for the new command. “The AFP will again siphon off additional funds from the public treasury,” he said. “At a time when funding for basic services is severely lacking, and poverty and hunger are rampant, it is an outrage that Marcos and the AFP prioritize the establishment of a new command that serves the Americans.”

“The AFP will once again siphon off additional funds from the public treasury,” Valbuena stated. “At a time when funding for basic services is severely lacking, and poverty and hunger are rampant, it is outrageous that the AFP and the Marcos regime prioritize the establishment of a new command that serves foreign interests.”

“The Filipino people must resolutely oppose the establishment of this new command,” he said. “They should stand militantly against these actions, both overt and covert, that aim to involve Filipinos in a war that promotes foreign interests.”

“The Filipino people must assert their rights and desires for freedom and peace, reject the treachery of Marcos and his military officers, and resist their subservience to US imperialist dictates that trample on the aspirations of the people,” he said.

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