The problem of the Philippines for U.S. Southeast Asian security policy
Date
1988
Authors
Riddle, Clayton L
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Canberra, ACT : The Australian National University
Abstract
Since the end of World War II, the Philippines has shared a unique
relationship with the U.S.; it has been a relationship based on unequal
mutual interests but it has, nevertheless, been beneficial to both sides.
For the Philippines, the importance of the U.S. stems from several factors:
the U.S. has been a major trading partner, a main source of foreign
investment, a strong military ally, origin of a large part of her political
tradition, and cultural model for many of her people. For the U.S., the
importance of the Philippines has been the strategic location for military
bases, a source of primary goods for the U.S. economy, and a military and
political ally in a region noted for its historical background of domestic
unrest and hostile foreign relations.
Specifically, U.S. policy towards the Philippine Islands since 1945 has
been mainly concerned with three issues: removal of the vestiges of
American sovereignty, economic rehabilitation and stability, and defence
against external aggression. After nearly fifty years of colonial-style
rule, the U.S. assisted the Philippines in making the transition from a
colony to an independent state, and in 1946 the islands received the status
of an independent republic. The U.S. maintained close relations, however,
and even agreed to assist in the restoration of the national economy
coming as a result of the war and three years of Japanese occupation.
Defence agreements with the Philippines were signed permitting the
continuation of American military bases and guaranteeing the defence of
the Philippines from outside aggression. The U.S. also gave large amounts
of military aid and assisted the fledgling Philippine government in
resisting the Huk rebellion. In recent years, however, a long smouldering rift has ignited U.S. and
Filipino policy makers over the dependency and lack of a national identity
the Filipino people feel they have incurred as a direct result of the
relationship with the U.S. One of the major conflicts has been over the
degree of American presence in the Philippines as manifested by the U.S.
military bases. Another has concerned economic development and the
amount of economic aid and investment promised by the U.S. A third and
more recent conflict has been over U.S. support for the now deposed despot
Philippine ruler, Ferdinand Marcos, before his ouster from government in
1986.
Throughout the post-war alliance, the extent of U.S. security and
economic interests in the Philippines dictated to a large degree U.S. policy
towards the Filipino government. As a result, U.S. concern for its own
interests, in the minds of some Filipinos, took precedence over the best
interests of the Filipinos as a whole. They point out that even when it
was clear that President Marcos was suffocating the democratic ideal, the
U.S. actually increased aid to the Marcos regime. This was done to assure
U.S. interests remained intact, at the expense of the Filipino people living
under the Marco government. In the transition to the Aquino government,
the Filipino people have not forgotten U.S. support for Marcos, who brought
suppression and authoritarianism to the Philippines.Consequently, in the early post-war years of the U.S.-Philippine
relationship, there was enough mutuality of interests between the two
countries, in spite of the economic disagreements, that the Philippine
government could still be counted upon to support U.S. objectives and
policy in Southeast Asia. In more current times, however, the growing
Filipino resentment of ties with the U.S., coupled with the recent political developments within the Philippines, namely the ousting of President
Marcos and the continuing domestic unrest under the Aquino government,
has cast a shadow over future U.S. relations with the Philippines. This, in
turn, has cast U.S. strategic security interests in relation to the
Philippines and Southeast Asia in an uncertain light as well. The purpose
of this study, therefore, will be to examine how American policy towards
the Philippines has affected U.S. security interests in the past, both in
Southeast Asia and in the Philippines, and what the future holds for U.S.
security interests in the region, especially in regard to the continuing
unrest in the Philippine domestic political scene.
I will pursue essentially three primary questions in the course of the
study: 1) exactly what were the factors that influenced and/or enhanced
security relations between the Philippines and the U.S. during the
immediate post-war period, and, more specifically, what this relationship
entailed in relation to U.S. defence and strategic doctrine; 2) what internal
and external factors within both countries upset this previously
harmonious relationship; and 3) what the shift in U.S. support from Marcos
to Aquino, and also the political shift in the Philippines itself from
dictatorship to factionalized "democratic" rule under Aquino, means for
U.S. security interests both in the Philippines and the surrounding region. The first chapter will begin with a brief historical overview of the
U.S.-Philippine alliance beginning with the U.S. acquisition of the
Philippines from Spain in 1898. Vestiges of the great-power rivalry
played a determinant role in U.S.-Philippine relations, as did the
indigenous situation with the Philippines itself, and these factors will
continue to influence future relations. Therefore, a clear understanding of
the treaties and defence agreements between the two countries, and the place of the Philippines in U.S. defence doctrine in a historical perspective
will allow for a clearer contrast with the current political relationship.
The second chapter will deal specifically with U.S.-Philippine security
relations during the Marcos regime. Sovereignty and jurisdiction over the
U.S military bases first became a major point of conflict under Marcos and
remains a prominent issue in the Aquino government. During Marcos’s
tenure as President, internal factors within the Philippines such as the
domestic political turmoil involving the communist rebellion and the
disintegration of centralized political authority affected the
U.S.-Philippine security relationship. External factors such as U.S. trade
and investment in the Philippines and new relations with other countries,
most notably the Soviet Union, have also affected this relationship and
have set in motion feelings and demands concerning the U.S. presence in
the Philippines that have carried over to the Aquino government.
The third chapter will discuss current U.S. and Philippine security
interests. These security interests include the naval and air installations
on the Philippine Islands themselves (as well as the upcoming lease
re-negotiations), the stability of Southeast Asia and U.S. defence
agreements, the ASEAN countries and their security concerns, and the
containment of a growing Soviet presence in the region, especially in light
of the Soviet military bases in Vietnam. The concluding chapter will deal with the consequences of past U.S.
policies and how those will influence future relations, especially the
upcoming military base lease negotiations. It will assess the U.S. position
in the Philippines, in the light of its past relationship, in an attempt to
determine the implications for future U.S. strategic interests. I will also
attempt to discern, based on the past U.S.-Philippine relationship, whether the current and future relationship will remain beneficial to U.S. security
interests, or, conversely, if the Philippines in its current state of
political and domestic unrest, poses a "Central American Dilemma" for U.S.
policy decisions.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Collections
Source
Type
Thesis (Masters sub-thesis)
Book Title
Entity type
Access Statement
Open Access
License Rights
Restricted until
Downloads
File
Description