CPP Information Bureau
Press Release
2 February 2013
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today asked Malacañang’s spokesmen whether they or any official of the Aquino government actually boarded the US nuclear attack submarine USS Cheyenne in order to inspect it for nuclear weapons? Or for that matter, have they subjected any of the more than 80 US warships or submarines which have docked last year? Have they even officially asked the US government and military whether any of its warships or submarine is carrying nuclear weapons?
The CPP was reacting to statements yesterday by Malacañang asserting that the US submarine USS Cheyenne was granted a diplomatic pass to enter Philippine waters and dock at Subic Bay and that it is only a “nuclear-powered” ship and, thus, not covered by the prohibition of the 1987 reactionary constitution against the entry and stockpiling of nuclear weapons.
“Does Malacañang actually know first-hand whether the US submarine USS Cheyenne does not carry nuclear weapons,” said the CPP. “Does the Aquino regime subject US military naval vessels to thorough inspections to check whether or not these are carrying banned weapons?”
“To accommodate the increasingly frequent dockings by US naval warships and submarines, the Aquino government has set aside provisions of its own 1987 constitution prohibiting the entry and stockpiling of nuclear weapons and the setting up of foreign military facilities,” said the CPP.
“Judging by the way that the American military conducts itself in the Philippines, it is clear that US naval warships and submarines are beyond the authority of the Philippine government even when they are within the supposed sovereign territory of the Philippines,” added the CPP. The CPP pointed out how American naval soldiers aboard the USS Guardian took battle positions and aimed their high-powered weapons against the rangers of the Tubbataha Wildlife Park two weeks ago to prevent them from approaching the US warship which ran aground at the reefs.
“The puppetry of the Aquino government puts itself in no position to enforce the ban on nuclear weapons. Nor is the high-handed and arrogant US military willing to subject itself to such enforcement by the Philippine government,” added the CPP.
The CPP yesterday expressed protests over the docking of the nuclear attack submarine USS Cheyenne. “Every American warship that docks in the Philippines reduces the country to a military outpost of the US in the Asia-Pacific region and likewise reveals the farcical claims of Philippine sovereignty by the puppet Philippine government,” said the
CPP.
