Posse comitatus and the West Philippine Sea

I WAS privileged to have been sent a copy of the position paper of the International Law and Relations Society of the Philippines through one of its leaders, the erudite former chief justice Reynato Puno. It is a paper that takes up the issue of the involvement of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea as well as related issues, including the involvement of the US Army.

I will take up some of the matters raised in the paper. It strongly endorses adherence to the rule laid down in the "Posse Comitatus Act" that the US Congress passed sometime in the 19th century. Fundamentally, this law forbade the use of the federal armed forces for domestic law-enforcement measures. It follows from the marked federal configuration of the United States that limits the federal government by making it a "government of enumerated powers." The paper distinguishes between "military force" and "law enforcement measures."