Following the crash of a surveillance aircraft contracted by the US Department of Defense in a farm in Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur on February 6, the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) called for an investigation into US surveillance operation and military operation in the island. It says the government should probe and publicize why there is an operation in Mindanao, how many were approved and under what agreement this was conducted.

The crashed plane was identified as a Beechcraft King Air 300 with registration N349CA. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Public Affairs admitted that among the dead was an American soldier along with three private defense contractors. The command said the plane was conducting “surveillance, reconnaissance and route support” at the “request of Philippine authorities.”

According to Bayan, the plane crash is a clear warning of the danger of US militarism in the Asia-Pacific region. “The incident shows how US warmongering, aimed at encircling China’s expanding influence, directly undermines reigional stability,” the group said.

The Marcos regime should answer why there is an operation in Mindanao when it is far from the so-called “hotspot” of US and China conflict which is being used as an excuse for its presence in the country. “Authorities have been raising the threat of Chinese incursions yet we have been allowing US troops and military forces to roam across the country and turn our entire territory into an area of US military operations,” according to Bayan.

In light of this, Bayan reiterated its call for the expulsion of US military forces and the scrapping of unequal military agreements between the Philippine government and the imperialist US. This includes the dismantling of US military bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) which stores American war equipment.