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E-mailThe nuclear-powered naval carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) and its accompanying fleet of warships arrived at Manila Bay on Saturday for a four-day goodwill visit.
According to Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson J. Eduardo Malaya, the naval carrier “will dock near the SM Mall of Asia for command level visits, routine ship replenishment, maintenance of shipboard systems and crew liberty.”
“Philippine Navy officers will welcome the fleet, which is made up of four ships—the USS George Washington, the cruiser USS Cowpens and destroyers USS John McCain and USS Campbell,” he added.
The naval carrier last docked in Manila Bay in August 2009.
The US Embassy in the Philippines also released a statement saying that during the four days, 7,000 American soldiers are expected to engage in “community relations projects and professional exchanges between the US and Philippine navies.”
Tourism boon
Malaya added that the visit is a “reaffirmation of the vibrant bilateral ties between the Philippines and the United States and is expected to be a boon to local economy, particularly to the tourism sector.”
The tourism sector is currently suffering backlash from the recent Quirino Grandstand hostage crisis which resulted in the death of eight tourists from Hong Kong. In the wake of the hostage crisis, Hong Kong put the Philippines on its travel backlist, discouraging its people from travel to the country.
Malaya also said that “around USD7 million (P313 million) were spent [by the American sailors and pilots] in hotel bookings, sight-seeing, shopping and other activities” during last year’s goodwill visit.
Captain David Lausman, the George Washington’s commanding officer, added that many of the vessel’s personnel were Filipino-American.
“As you know from last year, about 30 percent of the crew have direct ties to the Philippines either through aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, great uncles, great grandmothers, etc. and this is really a homecoming of families and cultures, because they are waiting to come back to their homes as well,” he said.
American bases
However, the visiting warships has raised the shadow of American bases in the Philippines.
Kabataan party-list Representative Raymond Palatino argued that allowing the USS George Washington to dock in Manila Bay was “another blatant [show of] disrespect [to] our Constitution.”
“It’s also an insult to the Sept. 16, 1991 Senate vote to reject US bases,” he said. Before 1991, the US kept several military bases in the Philippines such as Clark Air Base.
Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) party-list Representative Antonio Tinio added that the presence of the war fleet “should be seen as a test case of President Aquino’s commitment to national sovereignty.”
“The USS George Washington is nuclear-powered and capable of delivering nuclear weapons,” he pointed out in an interview with the Inquirer. “Unless the government takes effective measures to ensure that no such weapons are onboard, such as through direct inspection, then its presence here violates Philippine sovereignty, particularly the constitutional provision on nuclear weapons within our territory.”
In response, the DFA has said that the goodwill visit “does not violate the Constitution.”
“The Constitution prohibits the entry of nuclear weapons but not necessarily nuclear-powered foreign naval vessels,” said Malaya.
The USS George Washington deploys in 2009. Report by Petty Officer 1st Class Brock Taylor. (USNavyNewsStand)
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