In December 20, 2015, Ms. Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach of the Philippines was crowned the Miss Universe 2015. After being questioned on her opinion about the United States having a military presence in her country, she stated that she does not see any problem with it. Her pro-U.S. military presence response elicited strong reactions that baffled some politicians, leftist leaders, and activists who are against U.S. military presence in the Philippines. The debate of having U.S. military bases and/or troops in the Philippines has become a hot topic in recent media that the Filipino people are divided sharing their views online. Researchers on U.S. – Philippine relations are recently in debate over the presence of American military in the Philippines.
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After the Spanish-American War, the Philippines was colonized by the U.S in 1898 until 1902. The U.S. military was present until 1947 due to the Military Bases Agreement, which gave the United States rent free “certain lands of the public domain” for a period of ninety-nine years aiding the Philippines against the Japanese occupation during World War II. In 1991, the Philippine Senate rejected the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Security between the two nations, which had been to continue U.S. military bases in the Philippines (Yeo, 2012). In addition, previous president of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo turned down the offer of U.S. troops that suggests an act of anti-U.S. military presence (Hookway, 2001). Those who study the U.S. military presence in the Southeast Asian country have been discussing the campaign against terrorism and other political …show more content…
military in the Philippines could aggravate oppositions from the Filipino people. According to Roland Simbulan (2010), the Filipino people in Mindanao are waging a continuous campaign to stop U.S. military intervention—in its covert and overt forms—in the internal conflict, which has only complicated the situation in the second largest island of the Philippines. He also discusses how the Filipino people in the region of Bicol won against the restoration of U.S. military forces by forcing the rollback of 6,000 American troops. Instead, the U.S. was forced to send 100 U.S. military personnel in the Balikatan (joint military) exercises as a humanitarian mission. James Hookway continued that if U.S. troops were to come to the Philippines, the government must make clear to the Filipino people, predominantly Muslims of Mindanao, that they would only be in the country to combat terrorism - a reference to Abu Sayyaf, the only Philippine group currently on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations (2001). Andrew Yeo suggests that although intended to protect American interests in Asia, which included the Philippines, from Soviet aggression, the large U.S. military presence in the Philippines naturally incited the ire of nationalist Filipinos. To some politicians and intellectuals, US bases represented a neocolonial form of dominance over the Philippines (2012). He also discusses the leftist ideology and nationalism in the Philippines that
After the Spanish-American War, the Philippines was colonized by the U.S in 1898 until 1902. The U.S. military was present until 1947 due to the Military Bases Agreement, which gave the United States rent free “certain lands of the public domain” for a period of ninety-nine years aiding the Philippines against the Japanese occupation during World War II. In 1991, the Philippine Senate rejected the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Security between the two nations, which had been to continue U.S. military bases in the Philippines (Yeo, 2012). In addition, previous president of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo turned down the offer of U.S. troops that suggests an act of anti-U.S. military presence (Hookway, 2001). Those who study the U.S. military presence in the Southeast Asian country have been discussing the campaign against terrorism and other political …show more content…
military in the Philippines could aggravate oppositions from the Filipino people. According to Roland Simbulan (2010), the Filipino people in Mindanao are waging a continuous campaign to stop U.S. military intervention—in its covert and overt forms—in the internal conflict, which has only complicated the situation in the second largest island of the Philippines. He also discusses how the Filipino people in the region of Bicol won against the restoration of U.S. military forces by forcing the rollback of 6,000 American troops. Instead, the U.S. was forced to send 100 U.S. military personnel in the Balikatan (joint military) exercises as a humanitarian mission. James Hookway continued that if U.S. troops were to come to the Philippines, the government must make clear to the Filipino people, predominantly Muslims of Mindanao, that they would only be in the country to combat terrorism - a reference to Abu Sayyaf, the only Philippine group currently on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations (2001). Andrew Yeo suggests that although intended to protect American interests in Asia, which included the Philippines, from Soviet aggression, the large U.S. military presence in the Philippines naturally incited the ire of nationalist Filipinos. To some politicians and intellectuals, US bases represented a neocolonial form of dominance over the Philippines (2012). He also discusses the leftist ideology and nationalism in the Philippines that