Updates on periodic joint war exercises and the US troops’ growing encroachment into the Philippines always hit the news from a neocolonialist point of view. Events that trample on Philippine sovereignty—such as the US building more military bases and maintenance facility, installing firing stations of US missiles, building of ammunition factory, “rotating” more US troops, training more Philippine soldiers to be interoperable with and thus useful to US forces—are spun into an imperialist fairy tale that misrepresents its end as happy-ever-after for the “treaty partner” that is the Philippines.
This is the US imperialist narrative and this should be shattered by every Filipino not just to defend the motherland but also their very lives. US imperialist warmongering, drills, and basing in the Philippines spell danger to Filipinos. Worse, this danger comes with no benefits at all to Filipinos, despite their oft-repeated spin of treaty alliances. History and recent experiences show that imperialist US is actually the enemy pushing the Philippines deep into backwardness and poverty. It not only endangers the Philippines with its conflicts against its rivals but also seeks to crush the national democratic revolutionary movement that is working to free the nation from imperialist clutches.
US imperialism is the enemy of the Filipino people and most people around the world. If it has a friend here, it is the bureaucrat capitalist class led by whoever is ensconced in Malacañang. Both get rich and amass power from the resulting neocolonial economy and politics at the expense of the majority of our people. The benefits gained by the Marcos Jr clique include political backing and enhanced opportunities to loot the coffers including the exorbitant modernization contracts of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The US-Marcos Jr regime’s actions show it is in cahoots with the US to use the strategic geopolitical location of the Philippines according to the desires of the imperialist US. From five sites in 2014, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the US and Philippines has now increased to nine—officially. But the US actually operates from at least 17 bases across the Philippines. Not content with the annual Balikatan military joint war exercises, they execute other war drills such as CARAT, Salaknib and other smaller exercises in between. They do these “drills” in locations near China-claimed reefs, around Taiwan seas, and in areas in the Philippines where guerrilla zones of the New People’s Army exist.
With more US military bases and with the US upping the ante of provocations against China while driving their local puppet Marcos Jr’s regime to intensify “counterinsurgency,” they hold even more joint patrols, surveillance, and various operations in the country and in the West Philippine Sea.
Their justification revolves around the unequal deal they call Mutual Defense Treaty that allows the imperialist US to maintain its control of the AFP and the ruling puppet administration. The US has used the Philippines many times in its wars, conflict, or intervention with its considered rivals and threats. Nowadays the biggest US rival in the region is China and the biggest threat is the CPP-led armed democratic revolution.
Training, using Filipinos as US auxiliary
“In chorus with US officials, the puppet regime continues to make noise about China’s ‘threat,’ with the shameless objective of pushing the idea that “we need help from the US” to “defend the independence” of the country under the Mutual Defense Treaty. This plot of the US-Marcos regime must be exposed and rejected,” wrote Ang Bayan, the official paper of the CPP, when it marked the 33rd year since the historic termination of the Military Bases Agreement by Filipinos in September 1991. Fresh from the success of ending Martial Law and chasing a dictator out of the country, the people’s movement had been able to push for the inclusion of a no military bases clause in the new constitution in 1987. But true to their anti-people character, the imperialists and bureaucrat capitalists insinuated new “defense agreements” to bring the military bases back.
The reactionary Philippine soldiers are funded by Filipino taxes but are trained and used as US proxies in the conflict between US and China. Although still at the saber-rattling, provocation stage, Filipinos are already being hurt. Fishers are losing access to rich fishing grounds in their exclusive economic zone—both due to US-Marcos Jr war drills and China’s claims. Filipinos can only fish at the risk of their wooden boats being rammed or their crew being sound-blasted away from China-claimed reefs and shoals. Furthermore, Balikatan exercises using live ammunition and explosives have wrought immeasurable havoc to the rich marine life of the Philippines seas. Filipino coast guards and researchers are also harassed and water-cannoned away at sea.
Already anticipating these acts from the Chinese coast guard, the US-Marcos Jr’s navy and coastguard intentionally bring ships near the contested waters to get media mileage by catching on video the Chinese “attacks”. These acts are humiliating and infuriating to Filipinos; but directly related to the “ironclad” relationship of the US and Philippine militaries. Neighboring claimants do not get such treatment because apparently, they engage in negotiations with China.
The US benefits more when Philippine coastguards and the Philippine Navy sail into the West Philippine Sea in their antiquated ships that have been bought at a high price from the US junkyard. It gives them more reason to sell their expensive and excess (about to become obsolete) ships, planes and equipment. On top of that, they use Filipino troops and military camps to provoke China, all the while wresting the Filipinos away from the negotiating table.
False savior
While using Sinophobia to project itself as a defender of the Filipinos, US imperialism also uses terror-tagging to isolate the real defenders of the people—the Filipino revolutionaries.
This is not the first time the imperialist US is doing this. They deluded, fought, and later co-opted Emilio Aguinaldo in 1900s. They massacred the remaining fighters of the Katipunan (KKK) from Miguel Malvar to Macario Sakay. They sacrificed Filipino soldiers to secure the escape of US military officers led by Douglas MacArthur in Bataan at the start of World War II. They heavily bombed Manila to “liberate” it from the Japanese after the HUKBALAHAP (Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon) had already largely fought them in almost hand-to-hand combat.
After that, the US used the Philippines as launching pad of operations in its intervention in the Korean peninsula and the Vietnam War. US troops in the guise of training and/or humanitarian mission actually conduct military operations in the Philippines. They arm, train and provide or sell bombs and ammunition to the local reactionary troops. They are behind the war crimes of succeeding puppet leaders.
The very first batch of FA15 bombers bought by the Philippine government courtesy of US military aid purportedly for defense against China were used to bomb Philippine farms and forests in the US-designed “counterinsurgency” war, wreaking havoc on the lives and livelihood of already impoverished peasants in the countryside. Their latest and current closest puppet is Ferdinand Marcos Jr, commander-in-chief of indiscriminate bombings and military attacks on civilian communities under the guise of “counterinsurgency” operations.
The US has been using and abusing the Filipinos and the strategic, resource-rich Philippines. It is not here to defend the people, let alone the country’s claims, but to use its resources and people for its own hegemonic ends. ###(Pinky Ang)
