Aplicaciones ilustrativas del problema de la mochila

he focus of Philippine foreign policy since its independence from the US in June 1946 has been its alignment with the policies of its former colonial master. The US has regarded the Philippines as its

outpost in the Pacific. Filipino leaders link their country’s

prosperity with its relations with the US. During the tenure of the first President, Manuel Roxas, the Philippines signed the Military Base Agreement in 1947 which granted the US the right to retain the use of

the bases in the Philippines until the year 2046. In justifying the

agreement Roxas stressed that the US needed the bases to maintain a

strong strategic posture in the Pacific.^- Moreover the stability of

the Philippines was threatened by the Huk rebellion, and Roxas

perceived that through this agreement the US would provide not only military but also development assistance to the war-torn economy.

The Quirino Administration, »mich came to power following the death of Roxas in 1948, further strengthened Philippine-US relations. Quirino advocated the formation of a Pacific Pact among Asian countries on the same lines as NATO. However this was not received warmly by other Asian

nations. The administration then saw the possibilities of neutralism

is a foreign policy posture but abandoned it at the outbreak of the

^Alejandro M Fernandez, The Philippines and the US, The Forging of New Relations NSDP-UP, Intergrated Research Programme, Quezon City,

2 K o r e a n W a r . " The P h i l i p p i n e s i l s o c o m m i t t e d t r o o p s t o t h e wa r a l o n g s i d e o t h e r US a l l i e s . I n 1951 P r e s i d e n t Q u i r i n o s i g n e d t h e M u t u a l D e f e n c e T r e a t y w i t h t h e US. ( S e e A p p e n d i x 1 ) . Even t h o u g h t h e t r e a t y d o e s n o t h a v e “ t h e a u t o m a t i c r e s p o n s e " c l a u s e as d o e s NATO, F i l i p i n o l e a d e r s j u s t i f i e d i t on t h e b a s i s t h a t t h e US wo u l d n o t a b a n d o n M a n i l a .

The 1 9 5 0 Ts saw P h i l i p p i n e s - U S r e l a t i o n s mo ving c l o s e r t h a n e v e r b e f o r e . P r e s i d e n t M a g s a y s a y who h a s b e e n d e s c r i b e d as " A m e r i c a ’ s f a i r - h a i r e d boy p a r e x c e l l e n c e ’ was e x t r e m e l y a n t i - c o m m u n i s t . H i s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a l l o w e d C l a r k a i r b a s e t o be u s e d as a s t a g i n g p o s t f o r US bomber m i s s i o n s a s a p o s s i b l e way t o r e l i e v e t h e p r e s s u r e on t h e F r e n c h i n D i e n B i e n P h u. The M a n i l a P a c t w h i c h f o r m e d SEATO, was s i g n e d d u r i n g h i s t e n u r e of P r e s i d e n c y . He d e f e n d e d h i s p r o - A m e r i c a n p o l i c i e s , e m p h a s i s i n g t h a t P h i l i p p i n e p r o s p e r i t y was b a s e d on c l o s e a c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h t h e US. I n d e f e n d i n g US r i g h t s o v e r t h e b a s e s h e s t r e s s e d t h a t i t was a c o n t r i b u t i o n o f t h e P h i l i p p i n e s t o t h e d e f e n c e o f t h e f r e e w o r l d . ^ 2 I n r e j e c t i n g n e u t r a l i s m and a n i n d e p e n d e n t f o r e i g n p o l i c y t h e t h e n F o r e i g n M i n i s t e r , C ar l o s R om ul o, a r g u e d t h a t c o o p e r a t i o n «/ith t h e US was a b u l w a r k a g a i n s t an y t h r e a t t o t h e s e c u r i t y and s o v e r e i g n t y o f t h e P h i l i p p i n e s . He f u r t h e r s t a t e d , "We as p y g mi es c a n n o t s t e p a s i d e w h i l e g i a n t s f i g h t . . . T h e US g i a n t d o e s n o t men a ce u s , t h e S o v i e t Un i on and C h i n a d o , and t h e A m e r i c a n g i a n t i s t h e o n l y p r o t e c t i o n we h a v e f r o m c o mm u n i s t g i a n t s . . . We a r e on t h e c o mm u ni s t t i m e t a b l e , we w a n t o u r p l a c e t o be w i t h d i g n i t y and c o u r a g e among t h e l e g i o n s o f t h e f r e e . The i n s t i n c t t o be c r e e c a n n o t be q u e n c h e d by t h e a n x i e t y t o be s a f e . "

See C l a u d e A B u s s , The US and The P h i l i p p i n e s , B a c k g r o u n d f o r P o l i c y , H E I - H o o v e r P o l i c y S t u d i e s , 1 9 7 7 , p . 3 0 . 3 c i t e d i n A l e j a n d r o M F e r n a n d e z , o p . c i t . p . 2 4 5 . 4 I n an a r t i c l e i n t h e F o r e i g n A f f a i r s Q u a r t e r l y p r e s i d e n t M a g s a y s a y s t r e s s e d t h a t " t h e c l o s e r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e US i s n o t a mer e a r t i f i c i a l c r e a t i o n o f g o v e r n m e n t p o l i c y m a k e r s and i t i s n o t d i c t a t e d e x c l u s i v e l y by t h e a c c i d e n t s o f common c r e a t i o n . I t i s a p r o d u c t o f e x p e r i e n c e i n s e r v i n g n a t i o n a l i n t e r e s t . . . and s t i l l more t h a n t h a t i t i s i n t h e w i l l and t h e h e a r t s o f t h e p e o p l e . " Se e Ramon M a g s a y s a y , " R o o t s o f P h i l i p p i n e P o l i c y " i n F o r e i g n A f f a i r s Vol 3 5 , No 1. O c t o b e r 195 6 , p . 2 9 . 3 I b i d . , d. 3 2 .

There was a slight shift in the foreign policies of the lost two administrations prior to the ascendancy of the Marcos Administration. The administrations of both President Garcia(1957-1961) and Macapagal

(1961-1965) criticised the USA for exploiting the Philippines,and

emphasised closer relations with their Asian neighbours. These

statements were mere rhetoric, as they did not change the basic foreign

policy outlook of alignment with the US. Nevertheless, during the

Garcia Administration the Bohlen Serrano Agreement was signed which

reduced the lease of the bases from 99 years to 25 years. ^ At US

request President Macapagal tried to commit Filipino combat troops to South Vietnam, but was opposed by a Congressional group led by the then Philippine Senate President, Ferdinand Marcos.

President Marcos - The First Phase [1966 - 1975]

Although Marcos objected to the sending of Filipino troops to Vietnam during the Macapagal Administration, he sent a Philippine Civic Action Group (PHILCAG) team comprising medical personnel to Vietnam.

£

°During Garcia’s Administration the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA) was formed with Malaya, Thailand and Philippines as members of

the regional organisation, and during the Macapagal Administration

Maphilindo (acronym for Malaya, Philippines and Indonesia) was formed. However both regional organisations failed due to mutual suspicions and conflict among their members.

^The other amendments in this agreement were,

- The relinquishment by the US of approximately 180,000

hectares of base land and the transfer of the Olongapo

community to the Philippines.

- Prior consultations with the Philippines government on the military operational use of the bases for purposes other than mutual defence of both countries.

- Prior consultation with the Philippine government before the US could put up missile launching sites in the Philippines. - The creation of a Mutual Defence Board and the placement of a

Filipino liaison officer in American bases in the

Philippines.

During his first trip to Washington,in September 1966, Marcos emphasised that it was important for the US to maintain a strategic presence in the region. The 1963 decision to halt the bombing of Worth Vietnam came as a surprise to Manila. Sensing the frustration of the Americans towards the war, Marcos pulled out the PHILCAG team from Vietnam and enunciated the New Developmental Diplomacy.

The new diplomacy was intended as a response to the change in US policies toward the region, and Manila wanted to be prepared for any eventualities. Former Foreign Minister Carlos Romulo stated clearly that the Philippines did not want to be a pawn or outpost of any foreign power and added that the military bases symbolised ’lingering

O

enslavement’. However when Nixon visited Manila in July 1969, Marcos strongly advocated the continued presence of the US in the region for the well-being of the non-communist states. Nevertheless the government launched the new diplomacy, especially after the Guam Doctrine, by announcing a Philippine desire to establish diplomatic relations with all countries irrespective of ideology. Even after the imposition of martial law the Marcos administration continued the policy of "mutual accommodation" with all countries irrespective of ideology.^

The Passing of the Special Relationship

In the aftermath of the fall of the Indochina states to communist forces, Philippine-US relations shifted to a new dimension. Manila realised that the strategic value of the US bases in the Philippines

^In response to stated,

the treaties, pacts and agreements Carlos Romulo

"They served us but not too well, they promoted our interests to a limited extent, but not enough to justify the almost unlimited advantages that accrued to others at the cost of our own self- reliance and initiative".

See Buss, Manila to

9

ibid., p.52. This statement could be argued as a pretext for seek aid in return for the use of the bases.

Ibid., p.52. °Ibid., p .53.

had i n c r e a s e d , due t o US w i t h d r a w a l f r o m t h e r e s t o f S o u t h e a s t A s i a , h o w e v e r P r e s i d e n t Ma rc os n o t e d t h e a p p a r e n t l a c k o f US i n t e r e s t t o w a r d s t h e r e g i o n and t h e r e f u s a l o f C o n g r e s s t o e x t e n d a i d t o t h e I n d o c h i n a s t a t e s ( d u r i n g t h e l a s t y e a r s o f t h e w a r ) , a n d s t a t e d t h a t t h e s e a c t i o n s / ' . . . s u g g e s t s t r o n g l y t h a t i n i t s new a s s e s s m e n t o f I n d o c h i n a a n d , by e x t e n s i o n , S o u t h e a s t A s i a w h i c h i n c l u d e s t h e P h i l i p p i n e s i s no l o n g e r an a r e a o f v i t a l i n t e r e s t t o t h e U S . ” Li He f u r t h e r s t r e s s e d t h a t a l t h o u g h t h e P h i l i p p i n e s was t i e d w i t h s e c u r i t y a r r a n g e m e n t s and e c o n o m i c a s s i s t a n c e t o t h e US i t c o u l d n o t a f f o r d t o r e l y on t h e US, e s p e c i a l l y a f t e r US C o n g r e s s i o n a l d e c i s i o n s