07/11/2013
Talks on increased US rotational presence in the Philippines have hit an impasse as a deal has yet to be reached on US facilities to be set up.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the Philippine panel had disagreed with some of the US proposals.
“It is at the stage where there is negotiation so it’s a give and take process,” he said. “Right now, we have not agreed on the issues raised.”
Gazmin said among the issues that need to be threshed out is the access of Filipino troops to the temporary US facilities.
“They have proposals that we do not agree with,” he said in Filipino. “But that’s how negotiations are. These will be discussed until such time when the parties agree.”
The US and Philippine panels are also fixing problems on the wording of the agreement, he added.
Read more at PhilStar
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