Title: Philippines - 1998 Defense Policy Paper - Chapter 4
CHAFTER 4
FOUNDATIONS OF DEFENSE POLICY
Our National Defense Policy is based on immutable principles which the nation subscribes to as part of its enduring values and aspirations. How the Department of National Defense defined its objectives, crafted the defense approach, formulated various policy areas and how it addresses the challenges and opportunities is founded on principles enshrined in the following: the Constitution, the defense-related laws passed by Congress, and the various international obligations and peace agreements entered into by the Philippine government. The fundamentals embodied in these documents provide the mandate for the existence of the defense establishment and dictate the operational limits and standards. Directives, guidelines, operating procedures and rules of engagement are issued based on the limitations and provisions of the following foundations.
CONSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATION
The Philippine Constitution prescribes the mandate for national defense in the following provisions:
Section 2, Article II: The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy and accepts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land.
Section 3, Article II: The Armed Forces of the Philippines is protector of the people and the starts. Its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the state and the integrity of the national territory.
The scope of the national territory to be defended by our defense forces is stated in Article I:
"The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago with all the islands and waters embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its territorial, fluvial and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves and other submarine areas. The waters around, between and connecting the islands of the archipelago regardless of their breadth and dimension from part of the internal waters of the Philippines."
Article XVI of the Constitution expounds on the Armed Forces of the Philippines:
Section 4, Article XVI: The Armed Forces of the Philippines shall be composed of a citizen armed force which shall undergo military training and serve, as may be provided by law. It shall keep a regular force necessary for the security of the state.
Section 5, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, Article XVI:
(1) All members of the Armed Forces s he it take an oath of affirmation to uphold and defend the Constitution.
(2) The State shall strengthen the patriotic spirit and nationalist consciousness of the military, and respect or people a right the performance of their duty.
(3) Professionalism in the armed forces and adequate, remuneration and benefits of its members shall be a prime concern of the State. The armed forces shall be insulated from partisan politics.
STATUTORY FOUNDATIONS
There are three laws that cover defense-related responsibilities and are supported by related executive orders. These are Republic Act 7077, Republic Act 8551 and Republic Act 7898, generally described as follows:
Republic Act 7077: The AFP Reservist Law
This law provides for the development, administration, training, maintenance and utilization of a citizen armed force or reserve force which will provide the base for the expansion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the event of war, invasion or rebellion. The Reserve Force can also be tasked to assist in relief and rescue during disasters or calamities, in socio-economic development and in the operation and maintenance of government and private utilities.
Republic Act 8551: The PNP Reform and Reorganization Law
This law supercedes the DILG Law or Republic Act 6975 which placed the responsibility [or the internal security of the country to the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police. Approved last February 25, 1998, RA 8551 returns the primary responsibility for counter-insurgency to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The AFP will be assisted by the PNP through information gathering and the performance of police functions. The PNP will likewise assist the AFP in limes of national emergency.
Republic Act 7898 : The AFP Modernization Law
This law provides for the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to a level where it can effectively and fully perform its constitutional mandate to uphold the sovereignty and preserve the patrimony of the Republic of the Philippines. The law provides he modernization of the AFP in live major areas: Force Restructuring and Organizational Development, Capability, Material and Technology Development, Bases Development, Human Resource Development and Doctrine Development. The AFP Modernization Program, approved by Congress last December 1996, is the program covered by this law.
INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS
The international obligations of the Philippines on defense are either multilateral or bilateral. Multilateral arrangements include, membership in the United Nation the Association of South east Asian Nations and the ASEAN Regional Forum. Bilateral arrangements are agreements entered into exclusively between the Philippines and another country.
The challenge to the Defense Department is how to use these commitments as means to preserve our peaceful relations with of her countries, to advance our national interests abroad and to enhance our defense capabilities.
Multilateral Arrangements
The Philippines is a member of the United Nations and it is bound by the Charter at the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It can be called upon to support and assist in UN operations to include the contribution of military and police elements to form multi-national United Nations peacekeeping missions include sending military and police contingents to Iraq, Cambodia and Haiti.
The Philippines is also a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and stands by the provisions of the 1967 ASEAN Declaration. It is also a member of the regional security body, the ASEAN Regional Forum. DND is expected to actively participate in the defense and security-related activities of these organizations, whether they be intelligence exchanges, conferences, workshops and other activities designed for building regional confidence and promoting regional peace and stability.
Among the defense-related multilateral obligations of the Philippines are as follows:
International Law Concerning the Conduct of Hostilities
This is a collection of laws regulating the conduct of war to which the Republic of the Philippines is a signatory. Two related principles characterize the laws of war and these are humanity and military necessity. Together, they mean that only those actions necessary for defeating the enemy are allowed and those which needlessly cause excessive suffering or losses are forbidden. The major areas of regulation are focused on the choice of targets and the use of weapons. Included in this body of laws are the following (list is not exhaustive):
* Regulations Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land
* The Laws of Naval War Governing the Relations Between Belligerents
* Rules of Air Warfare
* Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be Deemed to he Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects
* Protocols on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby Traps and Incendiary Devices
* Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological and Toxic Weapons and on their Destruction
* Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Biological Methods of Warfare.
* Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
The Philippines is also state party to more recent conventions that govern the conduct of hostilities to include the following:
* Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapon and on their Destruction (1993)
* Treaty on the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone (1995)
* Comprehensive Nuclear Test Bad Treaty (1996)
* Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and on their Destruction (1997)
United Nations Convention an the Law of the See
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea entered into force in 1994. UNCLOS sets forth a comprehensive legal order for the oceans with principles, norms and rules that govern the behavior of states on the world's oceans. It clarifies the regime of the territorial sea, recognizes the Exclusive Economic Zone of coastal states, guarantees navigation rights and the protection and preservation of the marine environment and regulates deep seabed exploitation. UNCLOS classifies the Philippines, along with Indonesia, as an "archipelagic state" entitled to internal waters and a 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone.
Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia
This treaty was signed by ASEAN member states in Bali on 24 February 1976 as a norm for resolving regional disputes. Among the fundamental principles that guide the relations among the members include mutual respect of the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all nations; the settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful means; renunciation of the threat or use of force; and effective cooperation among members. The treaty calls for the members to "endeavor to foster cooperation in the furtherance of the cause of peace, harmony and stability in the region."
ASEAN Declaration on the South China Sea
At the initiative of the Philippines. ASEAN issued in 1992 a declaration in Manila calling on nations with claims on the South China Sea area -China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines- to desist from the use or the threat of force to resolve all sovereignty jurisdictional issues pertaining to the South China Sea. It also appealed to claimants to set aside, for the meantime, the issue of sovereignty and explore the possibility of cooperation in the disputed area.
Bilateral Arrangements
The bilateral obligations of the Philippines include the defense alliance with the United States, defense cooperation with nine (9) other countries and the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea with China and Vietnam.
Defense Alliance and Arrangements
Bilateral arrangements am the various executive agreements entered into by the Philippines with another country. The Philippines has one bilateral mutual defense arrangement with the United States under the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty signed in 1951. It regards itself as an integral component of the network of security arrangements that the United States maintains in the region. Other bilateral arrangements include defense and military cooperation with Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, France, South Korea, Thailand and Spain. These arrangements are in the form of either a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)or a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) covering a variety of functional areas.
Code of Conduct in the South China-Sea
In August 1995, the Philippines and China agreed on a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, with both sides pledging to resolve the territorial disputes peacefully and without the use or threat of force. Both countries also agreed to cooperate -bilaterally and eventually with other claimants- to protect the marine environment, engage in anti-piracy, marine research, search and rescue operations and other activities which would build confidence among the claimant countries and advance their welfare. Likewise, a commitment to the conservation of marine resources and freedom of safety and navigation was made. The Code of Conduct also stipulates the convening of expert meetings to discuss the legal bases of respective claims and to explore modes of cooperation in fisheries and other productive endeavors. A similar arrangement was signed by the Philippines and Vietnam in November 1995.
Bilateral Defense Arrangements
Country
Nature
United States
France
United Kingdom
Australia
Malasya
Singapore
Indonesia
Spain
Thailand
South Korea
Mutual Defense Treaty
Training and Defense Industry Cooperation
Defense Cooperation
Defense Cooperation
Defense Cooperation
Military Training and Cooperation
Border and Defense Cooperation
Defense Logistics Cooperation
Military Cooperation
Logistics and Defense Industry Cooperation
PEACE AGREEMENTS
The Philippine government has signed two peace agreements, one with the military rebels on October 1, 1995 and the other with the More National Liberation Front on September 2, 1996. These agreements generally called for the cessation of hostilities, the integration of the bola to the Armed Forces and livelihood opportunities. The government also has an agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for the General Cessation of Hostilities which was signed on July 18, 1997.
With the communist movement, the GRP-NDF panel signed last March 16, 1998 the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. This is the first of four substantive agenda items in the GRP-NDF peace negotiations. The three other agenda items which will be discussed in subsequent talks are socio-economic reform, political and constitutional reform and finally, cessation of hostilities and disposition of forces. Talks are continuing with the aim of eventually reaching an agreement on the remaining agenda items and the signing of a peace agreement that assures just and lasting peace.