DEFENSE AIDE SAYS PHILIPPINE INSURGENCY STEADILY GAINS STRENGTH

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000604900018-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 4, 2012
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: March 18, 1987
• Content Type: MISC

Si Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/04: CIA-RDP90-00965R000604900018-7
WASHINGTON POST
18 March 1987
Defense Aide Says Philippine Insurgency Steadily Gains Strength
T' y Davi 'B7Ottawa
A senior Pentagon official, warn-
ing against U.S. complacency about
the military situation in the Philip-
pines, yesterday released new in-
telligence figures showing steady
growth in the strength of the Com?
munist Party's New People's Army
(NPA), despite the personal popu-
larity of President Corazon Aquino.
Taking issue with the optimistic
assessment offered by a senior
State Department witness, Assist-
ant Secretary of Defense Richard L.
Armitage told the House Foreign
Affairs Asia subcommittee that the
Aquino government has "regretta'
bly failed" to develop a comprehen-
sive counterinsurgency plan. The
NPA has increased in size and ex-
panded the scope of its influence in
the countryside, Armitage added.
Meanwhile, an administration
source confirmed the general
of a report in Newsweek magazine
this wee that-said rest ent ea-
gan as Issu a secret intelligence
i"fndin au orrzrng tTie entry _
intelligence enc to step u its
assistance tote ili ine Arm .
? report said the would ex-
pan ds mte rgence gat ermg on
insurgency activities, includrn os-
ar a overflights of re e - e areas,
and assi n about a dozen more
agents to its Manila station,
In his testimony, Armitage esti-
mated that the number of regular
NPA soldiers grew last year by 9
percent, reaching a total of 24,430.
He also said the insurgency has ex-
panded its "presence" and "influ-
ence" to about 20 percent of the
rural areas, about a fifth more than
the previous year.
In an early February interview
with The Washington Post, Armi-
tage estimated NPA strength at
23,000 to 23,500 armed men. He
said his latest estimate was based
on "brand new figures" the Penta-
gon had just received. A little more
than a year ago, the Defense De-
partment estimate of NPA soldiers
was only 16,500.
Armitage also cited for the first
time reports, which he described as
unconfirmed, that the NPA is re.
ceiving arms from North Korea or
Vietnam. Armitage previously has
discounted similar reports and said
there was no. evidence the insure
gency was being supported from
the outside.
"I would say that the most seri?
ous problem confronting both our-
selves and the Philippines is corn,
placency," the Pentagon official told
the subcommittee. "This is a subtle
threat, that tempts us to underes?
timate the dangers that confront
Philippine democracy.
"Certainly the story of Cor
Aquino and democracy in the Phil
ippines should have a happy endin~.
But regrettably," he continued,
must say that such an outcome is by
no means assured."
Earlier, Assistant Secretary of
State Gaston J. Sigur Jr., who vis-
ited the Philippines last week, told
the same subcommittee that his
overall assessment of the situation
there is "very positive," with the
Aquino government addressing the
communist insurgency "realistically
and effectively."
Armitage presented a radically
different assessment. He said the
Aquino government had "developed
and then discarded" one counter-
insurgency strategy after another
and often ignored the advice of the
military.
"Distrust and apathy pervade civ-
il-military relations. Poor commu-
nication and coordination are com-
mon between civilian and military
counterparts at all levels of govern-
ment," he said. -
"The Aquino government has
also regrettably failed to develop a
comprehensive counterinsurgency
plan that integrates military, polit-
ical, economic and social programs,"
he continued. Deposed President
Ferdinand Marcos "erroneously re-
lied, exclusively on military action.
Some members of the Aquino ad-
ministration believe they can rely
almost exclusively on symbolic po-
litical acts to cure the insurgency,"
he said.
The Communist Party of the
Philippines, along with the NPA, he
said, remains committed to over-
throwing the Aquino government
and establishing a communist state.
The United States has delivered
$64 million in military aid, mostly
trucks, uniforms, spare parts and
radios, over the last year, increas-
ing significantly the operational ca-.
pability of helicopters, trucks and
communications equipment for the
Philippine Army, Armitage said.
But the Army still faces "mas-
sive" deficiencies, with a backlog in
spare parts and supplies worth as
much as $1 billion, Armitage said.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/04: CIA-RDP90-00965R000604900018-7