The Philippines used to be a great ally to the USA.
By David E. Sanger
The Philippines (click here) told the United States today that it must withdraw from the Subic Bay naval base by the end of 1992, ending a vast American military presence that began with the capture of the islands from Spain in 1898.
The decision, which resulted from an impasse in negotiations, follows a year of intense talks between the countries on the fate of American bases in the Philippines. The announcement also comes just three days before President Bush begins a 12-day Asian tour.
The shutdown of the sprawling Subic Bay base, together with the closing of Clark Air Base after a volcanic eruption this year, amounts to the biggest reduction to date in the United States military presence in the western Pacific. The 60,000-acre Subic base is the Navy's principal supply and ship-repair installation in the region. U.S. to Look for New Sites....
Twenty years is considered a generation of time. It has been just over 20 years from the time the USA left the Phillipines. There are many Phillipine people that immigrated to the USA and have their families here. They are American citizens now.
At this time when Russia is seeking to replace the USA's military in the Phillipines, Trump should be reminding the people of the Phillipines the productive nature the two countries had before a dictator took over and is now killing those that oppose him. But, instead, Trump embraces Duterte and evidently the growing Russia presence in the west Pacific.
January 18, 2018
New York - Phillipine President Rodrigo Duterte's (click here) murderous drug war entered its second year in 2017, resulting in the killing of more than 12,000 drug suspects, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2018. Duterte has responded to increased criticism of his anti-drug campaign by impugning, harassing, and threatening critics of the government and human rights defenders.
Since the “drug war” began on June 30, 2016, Duterte and his officials have publicly reviled, humiliated and, in one instance, jailed human rights advocates. Senator Leila de Lima, the president’s chief critic, has been detained since February 2017 on politically motivated drug charges in apparent retaliation for leading a Senate inquiry into the drug war killings and, early on, opening an investigation of the Davao Death Squad in Davao City, where Duterte was mayor for more than 20 years.
“President Duterte has not only resisted calls to end his brutal ‘drug war,’ but has used populist rhetoric to disparage the brave activists who have been investigating and denouncing his cruel campaign,” said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director. “Since Duterte will never undertake a serious investigation into the ‘war on drugs,’ it’s up to the United Nations to support an international investigation and bring the mass killings to a stop.”...
January 8, 2019
By Prashanth Parameswaran
This week, (click here) Russian vessels paid another scheduled goodwill visit to the Philippines. The interaction between the two sides, the first of its kind in 2019, spotlighted the continued activity within the development of Russia-Philippine defense ties under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s perceived “pivot” to Russia as part of his wider independent foreign policy.
As I have noted before in these pages and elsewhere, one of the consequences of Duterte’s so-called independent foreign policy, which seeks to boost the country’s outreach with countries like China and Russia, has been the slow but sure development of Russia-Philippine defense relations, despite the challenges that still exist.
That includes the maritime realm, where interactions have included visits by Russian vessels to the Philippines and talk about Moscow providing some maritime-related equipment and expertise. 2018 had continued to see some inroads on this front, with a case in point being the first-ever port visit of Philippine naval vessels to Vladivostok in Russia in October....
