A senior U.S. Embassy official in Manila Wednesday said American troops in Mindanao are to help in peace and development there and not to build permanent military bases.
Paul Jones, U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission, said U.S. troops are in Mindanao upon the invitation of the Philippine government.
"What we do in Mindanao is for peace and development and we respond to request for help. We have no bases," Jones said.
U.S. diplomats in Manila have earlier denied U.S. military is constructing bases in southern Philippines but admitted that the U. S. military is building "temporary" structures in Mindanao amounting to 14.4 million U.S. dollars for "medical, logistical and administrative services" to be used by U.S. soldiers.
They said that the facilities being built would be used by the U.S. soldiers "on a temporary basis for them to eat, sleep, and work."
American troops are deployed regularly in southern Mindanao under the Visiting Forces Agreement to advise and train their Filipino counterparts on fighting terrorist groups.
Focus on the Global South, an international research institute which has followed U.S. military activities in the Philippines said the U.S. is building installations for American military use in Jolo, Tawi-Tawi and Maguindanao provinces in southern Philippines.
It said on June 6, 2007, the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command (Navfac) awarded a 14.4-million U.S. dollars contract to Global Contingency Services LLC of Irving, Texas, for "operations support" for the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, a unit established by the U.S. special operations command that has been stationed in southern Philippines since 2002, allegedly to help Manila fighting terrorists with training and intelligence.
Philippine officials have also denied reports that a U.S. military base is planned or under construction in the country.
The Philippine Constitution does not allow foreign troops to be stationed permanently in the country and directly engage in military operations.
The law was introduced in 1991 when lawmakers voted to close down two U.S. bases in the country, Clark Air Force Base and Subic Naval Station northwest of Manila.
With U.S. intelligence assistance, Philippine government forces have been fighting Abu Sayyaf rebels and their allies from the Southeast Asia-based terror group Jemaah Islamiyah in Mindanao for more than one year.
Source: Xinhua
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