Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - The Philippines under its mutual defense treaty with the United States has an obligation to send troops in case war breaks out between North and South Korea, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has said.
"But given our capability, we can only send our doctors, nurses, engineers and maybe some ground troops. These are what we can only contribute because we do not have any air force, we do not have any navy," Enrile said in an interview with dzBB radio.
Article IV of the mutual defense pact signed in August 1951 states that "each party recognizes that an armed attack in the Pacific area on either of the parties would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common dangers in accordance with its constitutional processes."
Article V says that "an armed attack on either of the parties is deemed to include an armed attack on the metropolitan territory of either of the parties, or on the island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific or on its armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific".
The two parties will take their lead from the United Nations Security Council, according to the accord.
Enrile said that some of the American troops deployed in the Philippines under the Visiting Forces Agreement would likely be pulled out to beef up US presence on the Korean border.
"We cannot do anything about that. That's a function of the command of the US. They can pull out their forces from the Philippines to Korea and replace them with others," Enrile said.
Fortunately, he said, the Philippines is out of the range of North Korea's nuclear warheads and its Navy is not big enough to launch a massive sea attack in the region.
However, Enrile said that the Philippine government should closely monitor the situation considering that North Korea had become even more unpredictable with the rise in power of the aggressive Kim Jong-un, youngest son of longtime leader Kim Jong-il.
"But if ever their exchange of fire worsens, I can only say that the US and China would try to settle the matter between the two peacefully. But you never can tell, especially if North Korea launches its nuclear missile and South Korea retaliates... It's a very unpredictable situation," Enrile said.
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North Korea vs. South Korea Red Alert
OPINYON:
Ano ang masasabi mo hinggil sa balitang ito? Sang-ayon ka bang makiisa pa ang bansang Pilipinas sa awayan sa pagitan ng North at South Korea? Ano ba ang dapat na gawin ng mga Pilipino para dito?Mas makabubuti sana kung hindi na makisali pa ang Pilipinas sa labanang North at South Korea. Unang una dahil maaaring madamay lang tayo sa kaguluhan doon at maaari natin itong ikapahamak. Maraming Pilipino din ang magdurusa sakaling sumiklab nga ang digmaan. At kapag naganap ito, siguradong damay na ang buong mundo. Alam nating mayroon tayong kasunduan sa Amerika at ito nga ang tinatawag na "Mutual Defense Treaty" na sinang-ayunan ng mga pinuno ng ating pamahalaan. Ngunit, ayon nga kay Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, tanging pang-medikal lamang na tulong ang kaya nating sagutin dahil wala naman sapat na hukbong pandigma ang Pilipinas. Dito pa nga lamang sa ating bansa ay laganap na ang terorismo, pero wala pa ring magawa ang mga sundalo't pulisya ng Pilipinas, lalo pa naman siguro kung malaking digmaan na ang kakaharapin nila. Isa pa tanging hukbong panlupa lang ang mayroon tayo, at wala naman hukbong pandagat at pang-himpapawid. At kung mayroon man, ay hindi pa sapat ang kakayahan nitong makidigma. Ayon nga kay Georges Clemenceau, "War is much too serious a matter to be entrusted to the military". At isa pa, maaari pa naman sigurong maawat ang magkabilang kampo upang mapigilan ang isang napakalaking digmaan na tiyak na sisira sa buong mundo. Sakaling sumiklab nga ang digmaan, ay posibilidad na magkaroon ng "WORLD WAR III", kaya naman kailangan talagang maiwasan ang ganitong insidente. Ayon sa mga bansang China at Amerika ay kaya naman nilang pigilan ang digmaan, ngunit hindi pa rin tayo nakakasiguro sa maaaring mangyari. This is a very unpredictable situation. Kaya kailangang maging handa anumang oras.
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