UN asks Filipino troops to remain in Golan Heights

MANILA: The Philippines Wednesday said it would keep its peacekeepers in the Golan Heights until at least August, and may stay longer if the United Nations increased security there.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippines made the commitment following appeals by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry to Manila not to withdraw its 341 peacekeepers from the Golan to avoid “maximum volatility” in the restive Middle East region.
Del Rosario said Wednesday the diplomats made the appeal to him in separate recent talks.
He said the Filipino troops will stay in the region up to Aug. 3, when they need to be replaced by a fresh batch. But del Rosario said the Philippines may withdraw from the peacekeeping mission if no additional safeguards will be put in place to ensure the safety of the Filipinos.
Syrian rebels kidnapped 25 Filipino peacekeepers in two separate incidents in the Golan this year.
They were released unharmed but the abductions, as well as the wounding of a Filipino soldier at an outpost of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), heightened concerns about the contingent’s safety.
UN peacekeepers have been monitoring a cease-fire between Syria and Israel in the Golan since 1974, but violence has escalated as the Syrian civil war spills over into the area.
Austria began pulling out its 370 peacekeepers last week because of the security concerns, leaving the Golan force with just the 341 troops from the Philippines and 193 from India.
However, diplomats said on Tuesday that Fiji had offered 500 troops.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino said last week the force needed more equipment and revised “standard operating procedures” to improve the troops’ security.
British ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, the UN Security Council president for June, said on Tuesday that UNDOF would get “some heavier weapons,” extra body armor and see observation posts reinforced.
Del Rosario did not comment directly when asked if the new measures announced by Lyall Grant met the Philippines’ requirements.
He said a Philippine assessment team was in the Golan Heights to help Aquino decide on the security situation and what action to take after August 3.
“If there is no appreciable increase in the risk exposure by that time, then we may even consider adding to our contingent,” del Rosario said, while emphasising the Philippines was conscious of the need to have an adequately staffed force.
“We want a normal number there for the protection of everyone.”