Philippines and weapons of mass destruction
ThePhilippinesis not known, or believed, to possessweapons of mass destruction.Article II Section 8 of thePhilippine Constitutionexplicitly forbids the presence of nuclear weapons in the Philippines.
The Philippines, as a ratifier to theBiological Weapons Convention,bans all production and import of biological weapons in the country. It also signed theSoutheast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty,thus promoting a nuclear-weapons-free Southeast Asia.
Nuclear energy and weapons[edit]
The Philippine nuclear program started in 1958 with the creation of thePhilippine Atomic Energy Commission(PAEC) under Republic Act 2067.[1]A year afterFerdinand Marcosdeclared martial law in 1972, he announced the decision to build a nuclear power plantat Bataan.[1]Marcos reasoned that this was in response to the1973 oil crisis,as the Middle East oil embargo had put a heavy strain on the Philippine economy.[2]He temporarily suspended construction in 1979 citing health and safety concerns.[3]The plant was completed in 1984. However, two years later in 1986, the year in which Marcos was ousted from power following thePeople Power Revolution,and the same year in which the reactor atChernobyl,Soviet Union(now part of Ukraine)accidentally exploded,the new presidentCorazon Aquinodecided not to operate the plant[1][4]due to the proximity to a major geological fault and to then dormantstratovolcanoMt. Pinatubowhich erupted in 1991.
In 2016, SenatorJuan Ponce Enrile,a former defence secretary under the Marcos administration, claimed that the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was intended to be used in a development of a nuclear weapons program. While he maintained that the facility's main purpose was for electricity generation he alleged that the nuclear power plant's second purpose is for nuclear weapons production. Enrile speculated that if the Philippines had successfully developed nuclear weapons, China would be deterred in pursuing aggressive claims in the South China Sea. Enrile later admitted that he was not an expert on the mechanics and technology of the production of nuclear weapons.[5]
During theCold War,specifically at the time ofFerdinand Marcosfrom 1965 to 1986, American nuclear warheads were secretly stockpiled in the country.[6]The Filipino public never knew of it until much later after the regime, and only Marcos knew of it as he was secretly informed by American military advisers as early as 1966. Currently, however, there was amovementin the country that aims to stop construction of nuclear power plants in the country and terminate American military presence in the country, which were believed to house nuclear weapons on Philippine soil.
Despite provocations byChinasince 2010s amidst theSouth China Sea disputes,PresidentBenigno Simeon Aquino IIIdisagreed on letting the Philippines have nuclear weapons.[7]He justified it from the lack of government funds to create such weapon, coupled with the fact that having such weapon would only escalate tensions between the two countries.
In 2019,Juan Ponce Enrilereiterates his earlier claims in 2016 that the Philippines should have developed nuclear weapons to assert its claims, particularly in reinforcing thePhilippines v. Chinainternational arbitration ruling, regarding its territorial disputes with China.[8]Defense secretaryDelfin Lorenzanain response to Enrile's statement said that the Philippines is not planning to develop nuclear weapons due to the country's limited technological capabilities as well as legal obligations such as being party to theNon-Proliferation Treaty.[9]In fact, the Philippines had signed theTreaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weaponson 20 September 2017, and would proceed to ratify it on 18 February 2021.[10]
Biological and chemical weapons[edit]
Rebels from the communistNew People's Armywere accused of using biological weapons against theArmed Forces of the Philippinesin eastern Mindanao, but they refuted such a claim.[11]
Philippines signed theChemical Weapons Conventionin 1993.
References[edit]
- ^abcValdez-Fabros, Corazon (October 16, 1998)."The continuing struggle for a nuclear-free Philippines".Wise International.Retrieved2023-03-04.
- ^ABS-CBN News. (2007).ABS-CBN InteractiveRetrieved 2007-06-13.[dead link]
- ^"Letter of Instruction No. 957, s. 1979 | GOVPH".Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.Retrieved2023-03-04.
- ^Lee, Yok-shiu F.; Jeff So; Alvin Y. (October 1999).Asia's Environmental Movements: Comparative Perspectives (Asia and the Pacific).M E Sharpe Inc.ISBN978-1-56324-909-9.
{{cite book}}:External link in|publisher= - ^Rosario, Ben (14 February 2016)."PH planned to produce nuclear weapon – Enrile".Manila Bulletin.Retrieved22 April2019.
- ^"US secretly stored nuclear weapons in PH and Marcos knew about it, top secret memo shows".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-12-19.Retrieved2015-10-26.
- ^Aquino thumbs down nuclear weapons for AFP
- ^"Want to stand up to China? Develop nuclear weapons, Enrile says".Archived fromthe originalon 2019-05-23.Retrieved2019-04-16.
- ^Nepomuceno, Priam (21 April 2019)."PH unlikely to develop nuclear weapons".Philippine News Agency.Retrieved22 April2019.
- ^"UNODA Treaties".treaties.unoda.org.
- ^"Filipino Rebels Deny Biological Warfare Charge - Analysis - NTI".
See also[edit]
- "WMD risk in southern Philippines worries US".ABS-CBN News. August 1, 2012.
