Us Bases In The Philippines Essays - Olongapo,

Us Bases In The Philippines INTRODUCTION The longest relationship between the United States of America and a Southeast Asian country has been the US military involvement in the Philippines. For almost a century, the US military had use of two major bases in the Philippines, Clark Air Force Base, and Subic Naval Station. It took a strong anti-nuclear, anti-imperialist mass movement and a majority vote in the Philippine Senate to finally end the long US military occupation. The 1991 US military withdrawal from the Philippines was expected to cause a power vacuum that would have adverse economic and political effects on the former US colony. Was this really the case in the Philippines? Did the U.S. pull out cause economic havoc and wide spread political unrest or was the Philippine government able to compensate for this great economic and security loss? This paper will examine how the American Military presence influenced the politics and economy of the Philippines and what affect the eventual withdrawal had on the country. It will also examine what the Philippine government has done to compensate for the power vacuum caused by the US Base closures. Though I will rely primarily on outside sources, I will also present my own observations having lived in the former base area (Central Luzon) for two years (1994-1996) immediately following the U.S. base withdrawal. Historical Background to US Bases After the United States liberated the Philippines from Spanish rule, Subic Bay was designated as principal US naval station in the Philippines in 1901. A naval base was constructed and became operational in 1907. It became the largest training facility for the US Marines prior to World War I. In 1902, Fort Stotsenberg, renamed Clark Air Base in 1947, was established in Pampanga province. After World War II, US and Philippine authorities signed a military bases agreement in March 1947, eight months after the Philippines obtained nominal independence. That same year, the Truman Doctrine was proclaimed and the US campaign to contain Communism began. Clark Air Base became the headquarters of the 13th Air Force and Subic became a forward station for the Seventh Fleet. Clark and Subic played a key logistical role in support of the US forces in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. From 1965 to 1975, the US bases served as logistical fulcrums of the US war of intervention in Indochina. Air traffic at Clark reached as high as 40 transports per day, all bound for Vietnam . In 1966, the duration of the bases agreement was reduced from 99 to 25 years, with the treaty to expire on September 16, 1991. During the oil crisis of the '70s, regular deployment of Subic-based naval units to the Indian Ocean began. Carrier task forces from Subic were deployed to the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea during the Iranian revolution and North Yemen-South Yemen border war in 1979 and Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in late 1979 and 1980 . In August 1983, former Senator Benigno Aquino was assassinated and the country was in crisis. The anti-dictatorial movement was gaining strength and was led by the slain senator's widow, Cory Aquino. Marcos called a snap election in 1986. The opposition led by Aquino called for the withdrawal of the US bases. After Marcos was deposed in a popular uprising led by Aquino, Ramos, Enrile and Cardinal Sin in February 1986, a new constitution was adopted a year later. It stated that after expiration of the bases treaty in September 1991, foreign military bases, troops or facilities, shall not be allowed in the country unless a new treaty was ratified by a two-thirds vote of the Senate . In 1991, President Aquino broke her election promises and campaigned for the bases' extension but on September 16, hundreds of thousands marched outside the Senate as it voted 12-11 to reject the new treaty . Economic Effects of the Bases The Economic impact of the US Bases on the Philippine economy was undoubtingly significant. The US military spent over $500 million a year in the country on salaries, the purchase of supplies and services, and other military and economic aid given to the Philippine government. One estimate claimed that the total amount of economic contribution amounted to as