Since the earliest days of its independence in 1946, the Philippines sought assistance from its former colonial master. Its first democratically elected president, Manuel Roxas, needed U.S. help fighting a Communist insurgency, and in 1947 Roxas’ government approved a military basing agreement with the United States. In 1952, the two countries signed a mutual defense treaty that endures to this day, despite the Philippines’ Senate having voted to close Clark Air Base and the U.S. naval base at Subic Bay in 1991.
As China aggressively pursues dominance of the South China Sea, despite having its claim to 90% of the sea rejected by an international tribunal, the U.S.-Philippines relationship is being pushed to the forefront. At a trilateral summit this month, President Biden promised Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that the U.S. commitment to its allies’ security was “ironclad.” Indeed, unlike other “security partners” such as Taiwan or Israel, the U.S. is committed by treaty to come to the Philippines’ defense in the event of war.
In this episode of History As It Happens, The Washington Times’ Asia Editor Andrew Salmon and U.S. Institute of Peace senior expert Brian Harding discuss the complicated dynamics of this 72-year relationship that has had its ups and downs. For instance, the U.S. backed the Marcos dictatorship until he was deposed in 1986. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte (2016-2022) shunned the United States while seeking closer ties with China. Mr. Duterte’s reliance on thousands of extrajudicial killings in the drug war alienated Washington, a rift the new president has sought to mend with two Oval Office visits in the past two years.
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