U.S. Warns Manila About Military Order

MANILA —  The United States bluntly warned Manila today not to provoke a confrontation over American military bases in the Philippines during the Persian Gulf crisis, saying it could cause “irreparable harm” to relations.

Chief U.S. negotiator Richard Armitage said a Philippine demand for total withdrawal of American forces from the former U.S. colony within five years was shortsighted and too costly.

Stung by Philippine accusations that Washington was failing to match rhetoric with action over its largest bases in Asia, he said the comment “seems inappropriate to us at the time when the United States is on the verge of a major sacrifice in the Persian Gulf.”

Armitage cautioned Philippine Foreign Secretary Raul Manglapus that Manila was sending the wrong message to Washington when the world’s attention was focused on the gulf.

“Please consider the message you are sending, as it is perceived by President Bush and the U.S. Congress,” U.S. spokesman Stanley Schrager quoted Armitage as saying.

“As Americans prepare to fight and die in the Middle East, Filipinos define their own victory in terms of how many and how quickly U.S. forces can be removed from their country.”