The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) recently condemned the United States for sending cluster bombs to the Zelensky government in Ukraine. This shipment was announced by US Pres. Joe Biden as part of the new $800 million military package for Ukraine.
Cluster bombs or cluster munitions are weapons that when detonated disperse a large number of bomblets that scatter and explode over a large area. A large portion of the bomblets fail to explode on impact, leaving a field of mines . These unexploded mines remain a threat to the civilian population for many years. Children are specially susceptible to picking up the unexploded bomblets, mistaking them for toys or out of curiosity.
In 2008, more than 120 countries signed the Oslo Declaration prohibiting the use of cluster bombs. The US, Russia, China, Israel and others did not sign the declaration.
The CPP denounced the US for continuing to stoke the war in Ukraine by pouring weapons to the Zelensky government in line with the US thrust of prolonging the war in the hope of degrading the military capability of Russia. “The Ukrainian government has sought the cluster bombs which it hopes to cause ‘extraordinary psycho-emotional impact’ against Russia. In providing these cluster bombs, the Biden government will be directly abetting violations of international humanitarian law.”
The CPP continued, “This is the latest act of the US in its long history of violations of IHL, including the bombing of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia which left large swathes of land pockmarked with unexploded ordnance including land mines. All through history, from the Philippines to Vietnam, Iraq to Afghanistan, US imperialism has proved to be the biggest war criminal in the world.”
“The brutal aerial bombing campaign of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) using heavy bombs, jet fighters and drones which intensified starting 2017 is also the direct result of US intervention, making it complicit in violations of international humanitarian law and rules of war,” concluded the CPP.