The Philippines: An American Ally in Southeast Asia

Henry Srebrnik, [Summerside, PEI] Journal Pioneer
 

The United States and the Philippines have had a long, and sometimes problematic, relationship. The 7,000-island nation became an American possession following the Spanish-American War of 1898, though it took many years for U.S. forces to subdue the entire archipelago.

 

Conquered by the Japanese during World War II, the country received its independence from the U.S. in 1946 but continued to maintain a close relationship with the former imperial power. Domestically it was embroiled in a counterinsurgency campaign against the Hukbalahap pro-Communist guerrillas on Luzon for many years.

In June 1950, American alarm over the rebellion during the Cold War prompted U.S. President Harry Truman to approve special military assistance that included military advice, sale at cost of military equipment to the Philippines and financial aid under the Joint United States Military Advisory Group. The insurrection petered out by the mid-1950s.

The Philippines also faced the growing might of Communist-ruled China after 1949. The Philippines sent an expeditionary force of around 7,500 combat troops to Korea in August 1950 as part of the American-led effort to push back the Chinese and North Korean troops that had invaded South Korea.

 

The country signed a mutual defence treaty with the United States in 1951 and joined the anti-Communist eight-member South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) upon its formation in 1954. SEATO ceased to exist in 1977 and after the fall of the Soviet Union and the decline of the threat of communism in the 1990s support for the mutual defense treaty has also declined in the Philippines. It does remain in force, though, and was reaffirmed with the November 2011 Manila Declaration.

 

The strategic location of the archipelago in the South China Sea, northeast of Malaysia and Indonesia, south of China and Taiwan, and east of Vietnam, made it a favorable location for American military bases during the Cold War, and the Clark Air Base and Naval Station Subic Bay were among the largest facilities maintained by Washington during much of that period, in particular when they were centres of logistical support for American forces during the Vietnam War.

 

With the Cold War over, Clark Air Base was closed in 1991, partly due to the refusal by the Philippine government to renew the lease; this was followed by the closing of Subic Bay a year later.

 

However in 2012 Manila approved limited U.S. deployments to the former American military outposts, after a tense standoff between Chinese and Filipino warships in the South China Sea, spurred by conflicting territorial claims to the contested waterway and some of its small island chains.

In more recent years, the country has been battling an Islamist insurgency in its southern island of Mindanao and in the Sulu Archipelago, led by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

 

Since 2002, the United States has provided non-combat assistance to the Philippine armed forces through the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines. Counterterrorism efforts, along with development aid, have helped to significantly reduce the size and strength of Islamist organizations.

After warfare that left tens of thousands dead, the MILF and the government signed a landmark peace deal in October 2012 aimed at ending the long-running insurgency.

The accord paves the way for a new autonomous region to be administered by Muslims in Mindanao, according to Philippine President Benigno Aquino III. “Today, we sign a framework agreement that can finally seal a genuine, lasting peace in Mindanao,” he announced in a speech. He said that the MILF is no longer seeking to form a new nation.

The deal sets up mechanisms to tackle issues such as power structure and revenues in the southern region, which will be named Bangsamoro. The new region is expected to replace the current one, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, by 2016.

However, Nur Misuari, founding chair of the MNLF, rejected the deal, and remains in favour of declaring an independent Bangsamoro state. “We encourage Mr. Misuari to be a partner in ensuring the welfare of MNLF communities and actively engage with us in the drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law which will include the agenda of the MNLF,” stated Jose Lorena, a government advisor dealing with the peace process.

Still, things have definitely improved in the southern, Muslim areas of the country.