Extending the presence of the Marine Rotational Force-Southeast Asia (MRF-SEA) in the Philippines blatantly disregards Philippine sovereignty. The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) declared this after the US announced its plan to extend the rotation of its military forces in the country.
The deployment period of American soldiers in the country’s waters will be extended from the previous 6-month rotation. This solidifies using the Philippines as a launching pad for war operations in the region. Permanent troop presence is not allowed even under the military agreements signed between the US and its puppet Philippine state.
“The prolonged presence of these troops is a magnet for attacks by US enemies,” CPP chief information officer Marco Valbuena said. “They must not be allowed to stay in the country’s maritime territory.”
The MRF-SEA is a US military unit that launches and oversees US military operations in Southeast Asia. It also controls Task Force Philippines and operates the Philippines as a US forward operating base. Its operations are integrated with local AFP operations in the form of war games, intelligence sharing, and control over operations.
MRF-SEA also coordinates joint patrols of the US, Japan, and Australia in the South China Sea. Its commander has even flaunted the unit as a “presence with purpose” to provide a “credible, forward posture.”
“Provoking armed conflict is the job of the MRF-SEA in Asia,” Valbuena said. “Its operations drag countries in Southeast Asia into imperialist war in order to sell them weapons amid military tensions that the US itself creates.”
The MRF-SEA basing in the Philippines also shows the extreme puppetry of the reactionary state.
“No other country in Southeast Asia allows large-scale and permanent basing and presence of American troops in their country,” Valbuena said. “Only its Philippine puppets, namely the corrupt Marcos regime and the fascist AFP, allow the blatant trampling of national sovereignty and place their own people in direct danger.”
