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rhk111sblog · 2 months

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Philippines as the US’ Canon Fodder

The Chinese News Publication "Global Times" published this Article recently about the Philippines, and accompanied an Article with it. Here are some selected Excerpts from that Article:

"While the Philippines is absent from this Year's Western Pacific Naval Symposium, a Regional Naval Cooperation Mechanism Platform, it is exerting Maximum Effort in the Balikatan, or "Shoulder to Shoulder," Military Drills with the US. This is not a Coincidence, it displays an Attitude - the Philippines is uninterested in engaging in Dialogues and instead opts to escalate Tensions."

"It cannot be ruled out that the Philippines choosing to skip the Western Pacific Naval Symposium is an attempt to hype up Discussions on the South China Sea, attracting international attention and disrupting the Forum. However, Manila did not succeed. The Meeting was successful, Zhang Junshe, a Chinese Military Expert, told the Global Times. Even US Pacific Fleet Commander Stephen Koehler told CNN "I think it's a great opportunity for all navies to get together and discuss all the Isues.""

"Rational Filipinos are well aware that the US is taking Advantage of the Philippines. "The US is using us to implement its 'Pivot to Asia,'" writes former Philippine Presidential Spokesperson Rigoberto D. Tiglao, adding that "the US is not going to risk War over these desolate Islands.""

Here is the Link to the Article at the GT Website: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202404/1311266.shtml

SOURCE: Flexing Muscles only speeds up pace of Philippines turning into US Cannon Fodder {Archived Link}

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#globaltimes #philippines #westernpacificnavalsymposium #wpns #balikatan #unitedstates #zhangjunshe #stephenkoehler #uspacificfleet #rigobertotiglao

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whatisonthemoon · 1 year

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U.S., Philippines Kick off Largest-ever Balikatan Exercise as Defense, Foreign Affairs Leaders Meet in Washington (April 11, 2023)

▲ U.S. Marines with 3rd Landing Support Battalion, Army Soldiers, Navy Sailors, and members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines listen during a rehearsal of concept brief in preparation for Balikatan 23 at Camp Agnew, Casigueran, Philippines on April 4, 2023.

from USNI news by Rene Acosta and John Grady

MANILA – The Philippines and the United States began the largest iteration of Balikatan, the annual military exercise involving Filipino and American troops, during a Tuesday ceremony at the Philippine military’s general headquarters of Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Andres Centino opened the exercise on Tuesday as defense and foreign affairs officials also met for the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in Washington D.C., to discuss the direction of the alliance between the two countries.

“For the Armed Forces of the Philippines, in particular, this year’s Balikatan Exercise is most timely as we fast-track the enhancement of our capabilities for maritime security and domain awareness, as well as our employment concept of newly acquired equipment and weapon systems under our modernization program and application of newly developed doctrines – with the end-in-view of projecting a credible defense posture,” Centino said.

More than 17,600 American, Filipino and Australian sailors, Marines, soldiers and airmen will participate in the exercise, Enrique Manolo, secretary of foreign affairs, said in Washington, D.C., on Monday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The exercise illustrates the importance Manila places on internal security, Manolo said, and signifies another step in modernizing the more than 70-year-old alliance between the United States and the Philippines.

The increased emphasis on interoperability required to address new security challenges, primarily coming from Beijing, facing the alliance allows Manila “to shore up our defensive posture.”

“Balikatan provides unparalleled opportunities to demonstrate the strength and readiness of the Philippine-U.S. security alliance,” Lt. Col. Daniel Huvane, Balikatan Combined Joint Information Director, said in a news release from the American embassy in Manila.

Last year’s drills saw about 9,000 military participants in the annual exercise that began in 1991.

Philippine military public affairs office chief Col. Jorry Baclor said the 38th iteration of the bilateral exercise highlights four major events – a command post exercise, cyber defense exercise, field training exercise and humanitarian civic assistance.

Weeks before the exercise, the Philippine military said that this year’s phase would be the biggest, as U.S. armaments will even be in full use, including the Patriot and Avenger missiles and HIMARS.

This coming Thursday, U.S. and Filipino troops will also conduct a live firing of the U.S. anti-tank weapon Javelin, still as part of the recently concluded phase one of the U.S.-Philippines “Salaknib” exercise, which involved the Philippine Army and the U.S. Army in the Indo-Pacific, according to Philippine Army spokesman Col. Xerxes Trinidad.

An F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Figther, assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 122, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, sits parked on the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) during a scheduled port visit at Commander, Fleet Activities Sasebo April 5, 2023. US Navy PhotoOn the eve of Balikatan’s opening, Filipino and American soldiers trained together in “bunker and room-clearing” operations as part of the opening salvo at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija.

“This year’s Balikatan will be the biggest ever, an indication of the growth of our alliance and how it continues to evolve to meet our shared goals,” Heather Variava, U.S. Chargé d’affaires in Manilla said on Tuesday. Baclor said the participating forces will enhance their joint and combined capabilities in maritime security, amphibious operations, live-fire exercise, urban operations, aviation operations, counter-terrorism, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

The Philippines emphasized the importance of Balikatan to both U.S. and the Philippine forces, as Licudine said it builds “interoperability, enhances capabilities, and demonstrates mutual defense of the Philippine sovereign territory.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin declared: “Balikatan is an important opportunity to train shoulder-to-shoulder and build trust and confidence that enable our forces to respond to crises and contingencies as a team.” In Washington D.C., Filipino Department of National Defense Officer in Charge Carlito Galvez and Enrique Manolo held the 2+2 meeting with Austin and U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. The U.S. State Department in a statement issued ahead of the meeting said Blinken and Austin would reaffirm Washington’s ironclad commitment to its alliance with the Philippines, which it said has “contributed to peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.”

Speaking at CSIS on Monday, Manalo reiterated the distance between the Philippines and Taiwan – about 90 miles – where tensions have been rapidly rising between the United States and China over the future of the self-governing island.

Chinese naval militia continue to harass and ram Filipino fishermen working in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, he said. Beijing warships and coast guard vessels are ignoring a 2016 international tribunal’s ruling dismissing its claims to much of the South China Sea. The Chinese are treating the region as its sovereign territory.

Beijing has built at least seven artificial islands on coral reefs that are capable of supporting maritime operations and military airfields. One of those man-made islands is in the Spratlys, off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Manolo added, “we feel the United States is an important partner” militarily and economically. He noted several times at the CSIS event the importance of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with Washington in keeping the Indo-Pacific a safe and secure environment for maritime commerce. He indicated that the United States and other nations, possibly Japan and Australia, may soon begin conducting joint maritime patrol operations with the Philippines to secure its expansive ocean borders.

Manolo added that the Philippines has the fourth largest coastline in the world, and it’s hard to secure but vital to economic development. The secretary added that Manila also looks to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, as a forum to resolve differences peacefully. The association is developing guidelines on acceptable international behavior and mechanisms to avoid conflict in territorial and trade disputes. China is a member.

Included in the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA)were arrangements for the United States to establish nine facilities for future American operations. He said he will discuss what activities will be allowed at the last four added in the arrangement during the meeting in Washington with his counterpart, Blinken, and the two nations’ secretaries of defense.

The “2 Plus 2” meetings had been shelved for seven years when then-President Rodrigo Duerte promised he’d shift security priorities away from the United States and more toward China to bolster Manila’s sovereignty in regional politics.

A September meeting in New York between President Joe Biden and newly installed President Ferdinand Marcos that led to the new defense agreement clearly demonstrated the shift back toward the United States.

“We obviously have to work [WITH?] them,” Manolo said, referring to China. “Equity in the maritime commons” is a foreign policy goal as Manila is “on the threshold” of becoming a regional economic power. He welcomed public and private assistance in filling infrastructure needs for future development and growth. He pointed to how important Manila can be in delivering clean energy renewables with investments made to explore its deposits of important raw earth and other green minerals.

“Multilateralism must thrive” to avoid conflict, said Manolo.

But “we want to make [discussions with China] compatible with the U.S. alliance.”

Notes and links below

Japan to join Salaknib drills between PH, US armies - “Japan is joining a large-scale joint exercise between the Philippine and US armies for the first time, a top military official said, in the latest of the emerging trilateral defense partnership of the three nations.A handful of observers from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) will participate in Salaknib (shield in the Ilocano dialect) — an annual exercise led by the Philippine Army to strengthen the readiness and interoperability with its counterparts from the United States — which will kick off next week.”

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The WACL and CAUSA’s Role in the Ruthless Violence of US-Philippines Counterinsurgency

Death Squads in the Philippines by Doug Cunningham

Those Spared in Duterte’s “War on Drugs” May Go to Moonie Rehabilitation

#imperialism #inter-imperialism #china #u.s.a.#united states of america #the philippines #philippines #ecda #enhanced defense cooperation agreement #military #u.s. military #armed forces of the philippines #afp #balikatan

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catdotjpeg · 1 year

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On Monday, Anakbayan Queens joined 60 Filipinos & members of anti-war organizations in Times Square to protest the start of the largest-ever joint Philippines-U.S. military exercises, or Balikatan exercises. The exercises involve 12,000 u.s. troops, 5,000 Filipino troops, & 111 Australian troops, & will include live-fire in the contested West Philippine Sea. This year’s annual military exercises begin two months after Marcos Jr. agreed to grant u.s. troops access to 4 additional bases in the PH.

Dana from Anakbayan Manhattan spoke against the military industrial complex that exploits youth across both the u.s. & the Philippines. “How many Black & brown working class youth have been recruited & processed at this very office?” they asked. “How many of our classmates, friends, relatives, neighbors have been recruited into a war machine that forces them to fight against the interests of their own people? Military recruiters lure our people in by offering to pay for our college education. But why is education so expensive in the first place?”

Protestors representing Filipino youth & students, women, LGBTQIA+ people, migrants, & workers from the Northeast region called for “money & food for education, not for wars & state repression” & the junking of legislation like the Visiting Forces Agreement and Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement that allow the u.s. military to commandeer Filipino resources for their own political and economic gain.

We as AB Queens say u.s. out of the Philippines & all Asia Pacific! Funds for social services, not for war! End Balikatan & all imperialist military exercises!

Photos taken by Marion Aguas and Zack Garlitos.

-- Anakbayan Queens NY, 12 Apr 2023

#no to balikatan exercises #us troops out now #anti imperialism #philippines #new york city #youth activism

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kaitaiga · 11 months

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2nd Commando Regiment // Balikatan '22

Whipped up a couple of gifs for myself but I decided to share them instead. These are from Balikatan 2022 held in El Nido, Palawan, Philippines featuring U.S Navy SEALS, Australian Special Forces (2CDO) and Philippine Special Forces.

video c: Times Archives

#not my usual post but oh well lol #ive watched these vids quite a bit so why not #2nd commando regiment #2CDO #2 CDO REGT #Australian special forces #australian defence force #adf #military #military gif #australia #australian military #my gifs #gifset #Balikatan 2022

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drone9futuristic · 24 days

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US Army Tests Long-Endurance Drones and Balloons in the Philippines: Pushing Boundaries in Multi-Domain Operations

The US Army is actively exploring the potential of long-endurance drones and high-altitude balloons in the Indo-Pacific region. During the recent Balikatan military exercise in the Philippines (April 11-May 9, 2024), the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF) utilized these innovative technologies to gather valuable data and experiment with their tactical applications.

#Long-endurance drones #Balikatan military exercise #Indo-Pacific region #Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)#K1000 drone #High-altitude balloons #US Army drones Philippines #Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF)#ERSE #drone #drones uav #military #military aircraft #military technology

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fuckyeahmarxismleninism · 1 year

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By Stephen Millies

New York City’s Times Square was packed on April 10 with a protest against the U.S. military’s latest incursion on Philippine sovereignty.

The Pentagon has sent over 12,000 troops to the Philippines for the annual Balikatan (“shoulder-to-shoulder”) military exercises. Along with them are 5,400 Filipino forces. These maneuvers ― the largest in their 30-year history ― are aimed at the People’s Republic of China.

#Philippines #Balikatan #war games #imperialism #HandsOffChina #New Cold War #Pentagon #national liberation #Bayan #protest #NYC #Struggle La Lucha

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carlocarrasco · 1 month

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Chinese vessels spotted near Balikatan training area off Palawan

Since it formally started on April 22, Balikatan 2024 resulted in several military exercises and activities involving armed elements of the Philippines, the United States and France. This of course caught the attention of China and according to a recent Philippine News Agency (PNA) news article, several Chinese vessels were spotted near a training area off Palawan. To put things in perspective,…

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prabodhjamwal · 16 days

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US 'frustrated' with India’s discomfort: Maritime exercise in South China Sea

“The U.S. attempt to make Taiwan into the frontline of its pressure campaign has not borne fruit either.” By Vijay Prashad* In early April 2024, the navies of four countries — Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States — held a maritime exercise in the South China Sea. Australia’s Warramunga, Japan’s Akebono, the Philippines’ Antonio Luna, and the United States’ Mobile worked…

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#Balikatan #Chinese Ships #Governance #India #Indo-Pacific #Justice #Manila #Media #People Politics #Philippines #QUAD #South China Sea #Taiwan #USA

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defensenow · 28 days

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milkboydotnet · 1 month

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Condemn and resist US-led warmongering in Asia-Pacific! Support the Filipino people’s struggle for national liberation and democracy!

Robert Reid | Chairperson FFPS

The Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle (FFPS) condemns Marcos Jr. for surrendering Philippine sovereignty and putting the Filipino people in serious danger. We strongly oppose the continued US military build-up on Philippine soil as part of its war provocations against China, threatening to engulf the entire region into war.

The ongoing Balikatan US war exercises in the Philippines involves 16,000 troops 11,000 of which are US soldiers, making it the biggest joint military drills to date.

The exercises are part of the US government’s first island chain strategy, which aims to encircle China by creating a fortified chain of US-controlled islands. Part of the exercises will take place on the strategic Batanes islands and Palawan. The Batanes islands being close to Taiwan, allows control over the strategic Bashi Channel. Palawan on the other hand borders the contested West Philippine Sea. From these strategic islands, the US is testing its new Typhon mid-range missile systems that have the capacity to hit China.

With such military build-up in the first island chain, the US aims to provoke China into striking first, giving the US an excuse to go to war with its imperialist rival.

US military build-up in the region only brings suffering to the Filipino people. The current Balikatan exercises and the presence of US troops in communities are disrupting the people’s livelihoods, who cannot access their crops, coasts and seas due to increased militarization. In combination with widespread landlessness and a vicious cycle of debt through feudal relations of production, which are aggravated by the current drought El Niño, and the unwillingness of the Marcos Jr. to address the root causes of their hardships, this pushes the majority of the Filipino people into increasingly desperate situations.

Furthermore, communities are traumatised due to the constant bombardment of low flying jets, aerial bombing campaigns and artillery shelling as part of the war drills. All this suffering however would pale in comparison to the catastrophe that would befall the Filipino people in the event of a full-pledged inter-imperialist war.

One of the biggest obstacles preventing a US-China war in the region is the revolutionary movement in the Philippines. The revolutionary struggle that has roused and mobilized millions of Filipinos in clear opposition to US imperialist oppression and exploitation, and to the despotic ruling landed and comprador bourgeoisie classes, has forced the Philippine puppet government to deploy most of the US-directed AFP forces on ‘internal defence’ instead of ‘external defence’.

The Filipino people’s resistance to foreign domination is a thorn in the eye of the US and its strategic interests, who have ordered Marcos Jr. to finish off the entire revolutionary movement before the end of the year. However, this is already the umpteenth extension of their deadline to the Government of the Philippines (GRP), as Marcos Jr. and his counterrevolutionary forces have failed to follow through on the previous deadline to end the revolutionary movement, just like all his predecessors including his dictator father Marcos Sr.

Since the US-directed “counterinsurgency” does not try to address the root causes that push the Filipino people to fight for national and social liberation, it can only fail in ending their armed struggle. It has only resulted in a fully-fledged war against the Filipino people. There have been increases in militarizations of rural communities and other violations of International Humanitarian Law, such as increased number of abductions, killings and bombings, to try and squash the revolutionary movement and all dissent through the most vicious means.

As FFPS we vehemently stand with the Filipino people as they resist the fascist onslaught of the US-directed Marcos Jr. regime and fully support the demand of the Filipino people to dismantle US military bases in the Philippines and end US imperialist aggression and warmongering in the region. We stand with the Philippine revolutionary movement in advancing the national democratic revolution, recognizing that the Filipino people’s revolutionary war for national liberation and democracy is a concrete and essential contribution by the Filipino people to fighting imperialist war in the region.

End US aggression in the Philippines! Stop the bombings in the Philippines! Militant action against US imperialist war-mongering! We support the Filipino aspiration: National Liberation against US imperialism! Support the advance of the Filipino people’s war for national liberation and democracy!

#philippines #friends of the filipino people in struggle #ffps

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thenewgothictwice · 2 months

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March 31, 2024. 𝐆𝐀𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐀 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 ‘𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭’ 𝐔𝐒-𝐑𝐏 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲

Manila, Philippines – GABRIELA strongly condemns the upcoming "largest" US-RP Balikatan Exercises scheduled for April 2024, where approximately 16,000 troops from the US and the Philippines are expected to participate, with more than two-thirds of them coming from the United States.

"𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗨𝗦 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀' 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝗦 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗗𝗖𝗔 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆, 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗼𝘀, 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻," says GABRIELA Secretary-General Clarice Palce.

GABRIELA asserts that increased military activities and the presence of foreign troops lead to the proliferation of militarized prostitution. This form of prostitution is exclusively geared towards servicing the military, as part of its rest and recreation (R&R), and can be seen in areas where US bases are located, such as Clark in Pampanga and Subic in Olongapo.

Palce also stresses that militarization perpetuates a culture of impunity, where crimes committed by foreign military often go unpunished due to the unfair treaties such as VFA and EDCA.

With the AFP’s announcement of testing the Israeli-made air defense system in their US-RP military drills, Palce states, “The Marcos Jr government has remained complicit through its silence on the Palestinian genocide. Yet, it is now welcoming the same type of bombs that have killed thousands of Palestinian women and children into our land.”

This year's Balikatan Exercises, frequently conducted in Central Luzon, will expand to "key locations" in western Palawan, an area experiencing heightened Chinese naval activity. Additionally, the military drills will include Mavulis Island, the outermost island in Batanes province, situated just 200 nautical miles from Taiwan's Orchid Island.

GABRIELA emphasizes that the Balikatan exercises blatantly disregard the Philippines' national sovereignty by effectively transforming the country into a "huge US base" with unrestricted movement of US troops.

"𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝘂𝗹𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗨𝗦 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗼-𝗨𝗦 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗙𝗔 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗗𝗖𝗔!” says Palce.

GABRIELA calls on all patriotic women to unite and defend the motherland from foreign military intervention that could inevitably drag the people into wars and conflicts.

#USTroopsOutNow.

#the philippines #death to the usa #ustroopsoutnow #important #please amplify to raise awareness #palestine

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