Philippines debates more U.S. troops

The first group of U.S. military trainers arrived in the Philippines last month

By Rufi Vigilar

MANILA, Philippines (CNN) -- The Philippine government is considering a U.S. proposal to send a full military battalion to the Southeast Asian nation's troubled south.

A confidential source said the U.S. military deployment could comprise "up to a thousand troops" who would set up a counter-terrorist training camp for Philippine soldiers in Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte, some 500 miles (800 km) south of Manila.

The arrival of U.S. troops would take place "in phases" starting this month, the source added.

Armed Forces spokesman General Edilberto Adan confirmed the U.S. proposal but stressed the precise details of the deployment was "still tentative."

"The plan has been tabled by the U.S.," Adan told CNN from the main Philippine military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, where the matter was being discussed, "but nothing will be done without a mutual agreement with the Philippine government."

VIDEO A contingent of U.S. Special Forces troops arrive in the Philippines as the first of a larger joint antiterrorist effort against Muslim guerrillas. CNN's Jamie McIntyre reports (January 10) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   MORE STORIES • U.S. to aid hunt for Abu Sayyaf    RESOURCES FACTSHEET: Southeast Asia's terror crackdown     CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

A military battalion basically comprises some 500 soldiers, with about 100 each in five companies -- three rifle units, one heavy equipment unit, and another unit based at headquarters.

A battalion could include hundreds more soldiers "if artillery, armored, and special weapons complements are added," a Philippine army colonel said.

The successive arrival and exit of U.S. troops in the Philippines in recent months has fueled speculation they may be allowed to participate directly in operations against guerrillas from the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf in the south.

Abu Sayyaf

Abu Sayyaf have held hostage American Christian missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipino nurse Deborah Yap for more than seven months.

The U.S. has put Abu Sayyaf on a list of terrorist groups with suspected links to the al Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden.

Philippine officials, however, have repeatedly stressed that arriving U.S. troops would be limited to training an elite Philippine counter-terrorist force known as the Light Reaction Company.

The latest batch of 25 U.S. military trainers arrived Thursday in Zamboanga, about 530 miles (850 km) south of Manila, a week after eight officers arrived in city.

A training camp is being set up in Malagutay, just west of Zamboanga, where the Armed Forces Southern Command is based.

General Adan said barracks for U.S. military trainers will also be set up in Basilan Island, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold just off the coast of Zamboanga, where the military believes the hostages are being held.

The Armed Forces spokesman, however, stressed the barracks "will not be a separate camp but within a Philippine military camp."

Kidnappings

The Burnham couple and the Filipino nurse are the last of scores of captives the Abu Sayyaf seized in four separate incidents beginning in May last year. More than a dozen hostages were beheaded, including American tourist Guillermo Sobero.

"There's a great deal of concern from the parents of the Burnhams that their children would perish," said Rep. Todd Tiahrt of Kansas, the Burnhams' home state.

Tiahrt paid a visit to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last week to express the U.S. government's concern about the Abu Sayyaf hostages and to monitor the training of Philippine troops in the south.

The congressman's Manila visit follows talks on the hostage crisis held with Arroyo when she visited Washington in November.

Deadlines

Though the U.S. government has not set a deadline for the Philippine government to subdue Abu Sayyaf, Tiahrt said "there have been too many deadlines" set by the Philippine military last year which had not been met.

Tiahrt also downplayed the expected arrival of more U.S. troops in the Philippines in the coming weeks, saying they are part of a "long-term commitment against terrorism" that "goes beyond the Burnhams."

Should the Burnhams be rescued, counter-terrorist training for Philippine troops should continue, he said.

Tiahrt, a member of House Appropriations Sub-Committee on Defense, explained the long-term goal of both the U.S. and Philippine governments is "eliminating the fear of terrorism."

The U.S. government has pledged more than $70 million in military aid to the Philippines this year as part of its global counter-terrorist campaign, following the September 11 suicide attacks on New York and Washington.