The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today called on the Filipino people to push presidential bets to stand for Philippine sovereignty, oppose US military intervention, oppose the use of the country as base for US superpower conflict with China and ensure that the current 2022 Balikatan exercises will be the last.

CPP Chief Information Officer Marco L. Valbuena said “If the government continues to allow the US military to use the Philippines for its war games and saber-rattling, there will be rising danger of the country turning into a war zone for its inter-imperialist conflict with China similar to how Ukraine became a war zone for the US proxy war with Russia.”

Valbuena said Balikatan joint war exercises being held since Monday must be denounced as “outright violation of the country’s sovereignty.”

He said the Balikatan exercises which involve 5,100 American soldiers form part of the rising military activities in East Asia which are provocative against the rising military strength of China which makes unlawful claims over 90% of the South China Sea.

The exercises, according to reports, are participated by 5,100 American soldiers in the war games, while there are 3,800 AFP soldiers which started last Monday, March 28.

“By allowing the US to conduct the large-scale war exercises, the Duterte regime is displaying outright lack of independence in its foreign policy as it firmly binds the Philippines to the US policy of war and the US push to escalate military conflicts with China through the increased deployment of US warships in the Pacific Sea, the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait,” Valbuena said.

“These military operations increase risk of the country being pulled into a potential US and China military conflict,” he added, “which is why the people must act and demand those seeking their votes to do away with them.” (CPP Information Bureau)