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Issue Number 22, January 2003
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Kapatiran Issue
No. 22, January 2003
US
GLOBAL "WAR ON TERROR" AND MILITARY
INTERVENTION IN THE PHILIPPINES
- Emilia Dapulang
The Return Of US Troops
The Filipino people kicked out the US military bases in
1991, after they had been in the country for 100 years.
But US imperialism apparently cannot stand being deprived
of the Philippines, so crucial is its position to the US'
geopolitical and military interests.
When the US came to the Philippines a century ago, it was
continuing a wave of territorial expansion conducted
throughout the 19th Century - from its east coast across
the mainland continent to the west coast and various
Pacific islands, then into Central America, then across
the Pacific to the Philippines. The country was desired
not only for its rich forests and vast minerals but also
as a staging post from which to expand into the markets
of China and the rest of Asia - in short, extending the
US' imperial reach into this part of the world. As
Senator Beveridge said to the US Senate in 1900:
"...the archipelago is a base for commerce of the
East. It is a base for military and naval operations
against the only powers with whom conflict is
possible".
Things have changed little even after the Cold War. In
1995, The US' East Asian Strategy Report of the
Department of Defense includes a quote that goes
"We reaffirm our commitment to maintain a stable
forward presence in the region, at the existing level of
100,000 troops, for the foreseeable future... for
maintaining forward deployment of US forces and access
and basing rights for US and allied forces... If the
American presence in Asia were removed... our ability to
affect the course of events would be constrained, our
markets and interests would be jeopardised".
US imperialism first tried to extract an Acquisition and
Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) which would have allowed
US forces to refuel, repair and store war materiel in the
country. Vigorous protests and mass demonstrations put
this down. This was repackaged in 1997 as the Status of
Forces Agreement (SOFA) and, again, was met with great
opposition and put down.
Yet, quietly, Philippine-US military exercises were still
held in the country even after total US withdrawal in
1992. These exercises allow the US to gain familiarity
with other countries' forces and potential battlefield
terrain, as well as cement political and military ties of
dependence.
The US was finally able to force a Visiting Forces
Agreement (VFA) through in 1999, despite the
protestations of our Junk VFA Movement. Approved by the
Senate as a treaty - and by the US as a mere executive
agreement - the VFA effectively makes the country one
gigantic US military facility at its convenience.
Virtually unhindered access to Philippine territory is
granted by giving US military and civilian forces,
including their personnel, warships, and warplanes,
extraordinary rights and privileges.
The VFA is fully a piece of the US' global military
spread spanning over 800 military installations
(including 60 major facilities) and forces in over 140
countries, significant troop deployments in 25 countries,
and at least 36 security arrangements. It's part of a
string of dozens of security treaties, arrangements,
ACSAs and SOFAs in Asia stretching from North Asia
through Southeast Asia to Australia and the South Pacific
- including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Burma,
Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines,
Australia, New Zealand, the Marshall Islands and so on.
The US lost no time in taking advantage of these
agreements and conducted Balikatan* 2000 in January 2000
in Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pampanga, Zambales, Bataan,
Cavite and Palawan - i.e. in exercise venues exceeding
the scope of any before it. (*Balikatan = "shoulder
to shoulder". Ed.)
Patriotic forces in the Philippines have always argued
that these agreements make a mockery of Philippine
sovereignty and lay the basis for a return of US troops
to the country and direct armed intervention. Barely
little more than decade after the ejection of the
military bases, the foot soldiers of US imperialism are
well and truly back - this time for their "war on
terrorism".
Terrorism is an indefensible scourge and should be
condemned. Yet what is even more condemnable is how US
imperialism, which has had little qualms in targeting
civilians in defense of its hegemony, is invoking that
legitimate cause for its own self-interested ends. All
that the end of the Cold War has meant for the US is a
golden opportunity to expand its economic, political and
military hegemony ever wider across the world.
The New US "Overseas Presence Posture"
Proof of this is what the US Quadrennial Defense Review
(QDR) 2001 says. It tries to justify a more aggressive US
global security stance because America's overseas
"presence posture", concentrated in Western
Europe and Northeast Asia is now supposedly
"inadequate" for the new strategic environment.
Allegedly, potential threats in other areas of the world
are emerging, endangering the US' economic and security
interests.
The more aggressive US global security posture is now
reoriented to:
"a) develop a basing system that provides greater
flexibility for US forces in critical areas of the world,
placing emphasis on additional bases and stations beyond
Western Europe and Northeast Asia;
"b) provide temporary access to facilities in
foreign countries that enable US forces to conduct
training and exercises in the absence of permanent ranges
and bases;
"c) redistribute forces and equipment based on
regional deterrence requirements; and
"d) provide sufficient mobility, including airlift,
sealift, pre-positioning, basing infrastructure,
alternative points of disembarkation, and new logistical
concepts of operations, to conduct expeditionary
operations in distant theatres against adversaries armed
with weapons of mass destruction and other means to deny
access to US forces".
Largely written before the terrorist attacks of September
11, 2001, though released a few weeks after,
implementation of the recommendations of the QDR 2001
gained momentum with the creation of the "war on
terrorism" as a propaganda pillar.
The Philippines was quickly declared as the "second
front" after Afghanistan, with the return of US
troops sycophantically embraced by President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo. As ever, the country is critical to the
US strategy of fortifying its presence in Southeast Asia,
a presence somewhat weakened after the ouster of the
bases. The region is rich in natural resources like oil,
gas and minerals. And with Southeast Asia having a
population of over 500 million people, it's a vast market
for US goods and services and a significant destination
for US investments. Its east-west sea lanes connect the
Indian and Pacific Oceans and its north-south routes link
Australasia with Northeast Asia. These are vital not only
to international commerce but also to any movement of US
forces from the Western Pacific to the Indian Ocean or
the Persian Gulf.
The US also wants to fortify its strength against
potential superpowers. Mainland Asia is also home to
three nuclear powers: China, India and Pakistan. With a
combined population of over two billion, growing
economies, and increasing global presence, China and
India are budding regional Powers, which the US is keen
to contain.
In this context, the Philippines offers strategic
advantages. It has an extremely favourable location,
being at the region's crossroads with so many countries
conveniently within reasonable distance. But US
imperialism also benefits from the ease of dealing with
the country's puppet governments as well as the
reliability and dependence of the armed forces. In line
with aiming for US support for her Administration and
re-election bid in 2004, President Macapagal-Arroyo has
ensured that the Philippines fulfills its set role in the
US' Asia-Pacific agenda.
To swing public support for the entry of US troops and
the eventual return of the US military bases in the
Philippines, the President and her militarist advisers
magnified the threat of the Muslim bandit group, the Abu
Sayyaf Group (ASG), putting them in the same league as
the supposed master terrorist, Osama bin Laden and his al
Qaeda network. The Abu Sayyaf, incidentally, was created
by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) ten to fifteen
years ago to weaken the revolutionary secessionist forces
of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Bin Laden himself was
trained by the CIA.
For more than a year, the Armed Forces of the Philippines
have been going after the bandits, whom military reports
confirm to be no more than a hundred. Pretending to be
unable to defeat the bandits, the Philippine government
then secured the help of the United States and, for its
part, pledging full support for the US' campaign against
terror. The ASG's supposed links with the al Qaeda were
continually played up to bolster the US campaign for
deeper military ties with the Philippines and a stronger
military presence. The stage was then set, and the
pretext for the entry of US troops was put in place no
matter how flimsy.
But the US agenda goes far beyond the joint US-Philippine
military operations against the trifling ASG which just
served as a useful excuse for deeper US military presence
and intervention in the country.
More To Come
In the meantime, the VFA, which is actually a toned-down
ACSA, is apparently still not enough for the US' tastes.
In her trip to the US, in November 2001, President
Macapagal-Arroyo took up a Mutual Logistics Support
Agreement (MLSA) which is presently being negotiated
secretly by the two governments. Since this was written,
the MLSA has been signed, in November 2002. Ed.
The preamble of the working draft says the MLSA aims to
"further the interoperability, readiness and
effectiveness" of the Philippine-US military forces
"through increased logistics cooperation". The
basic aim though is simply to allow the US to set up
logistics support network in the country - covering
supplies, billeting, transportation, communication and
medical materiel - by storing or procuring them locally.
Though involving seemingly innocuous items they clearly
have a darkly military purpose.
The joint combat operations against the trifling ASG are
also obviously meant to lay the ground for similar
operations against the New People's Army (NPA) of the
Communist Party of the Philippines, the MILF and the
MNLF. The Arroyo regime has been conspicuous in floating
and pushing the idea of allowing the US troops to go well
beyond Basilan (the island where the American and
Philippine military conducted a 2002 "training
exercise". This was an Abu Sayyaf stronghold, where
they were holding American hostages. Ed.). In her State
of the Nation Address (SONA) in July 2002, the President
even boasted of enhancing the Philippines' strategic
relationship with the US through continuing training
exercises.
Clearly, the deployment of US forces against the ASG was
meant to start a chain of events for rationalising
further US military intervention and aggression, which
can only wreak havoc on the Filipino people and their
struggle for national freedom.
For the Filipino people, it is important to be clear what
all these military agreements mean. They are key
components of the US' global military spread. They are
vital for creating a robust military and security
presence for US imperialism in the region. They are vital
to preserve sea lanes for US ships. They are vital as
combat support infrastructure in cases of military
engagements in the Middle East, and North and South Asia.
In short, they are vital for whenever the US wages war.
A 500 Year Struggle Against War
For the militant workers and people's movement in the
Philippines, one of the most important tasks in the
current situation is to oppose US imperialism's grand
designs in the region, specifically its strategic
positioning in the Philippines to which the US-Arroyo
regime is a willing accomplice.
The Filipino nation's history is replete with experiences
that show US imperialism is a deceitful and brutal enemy
of the people. The widespread poverty, social inequity
and deep exploitation that Filipinos suffer today are in
large measure due to its domination of Philippine
society. Yet history also shows that the hard and valiant
struggle and, indeed, the sacrifices and martyrdom of so
many are not in vain.
In the last 500 years, the Philippines and its people
have been on the receiving end of wars under various
names. Wars of colonisation; wars of pacification;
insurgent wars, the Second World War... and quite
recently, the "war on terrorism". Filipinos
have learned that a war of aggression, by any other name,
is meant to control territory - hence, resources, both
human and natural. But at the same time that we learned
these bitter lessons, we also began a movement for
national liberation and genuine democracy. We are
unrelenting in our struggle and convinced that each
battle we fight, no matter the outcome, is a step in the
right direction. A step towards national freedom and
liberation.
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