By Richard Javad Heydarian
“More than ever, the Philippines has come to rely on an external partner other than the United States.”
The Unite States has long stood as the backbone of the Philippines’ national security. During its 333 years of colonial rule, Spain had limited impact on the modernization of the Southeast Asian nation’s institutions, but things changed with the advent of full-scale American colonial rule in the early 20th century.
Though the Philippines gained formal independence toward the end of World War II, it effectively outsourced its external security obligations to its former (and most benign) colonial master. Thanks to a series of landmark agreements, namely the Military Assistance Pact (1947), the Military Bases Agreement (1947), and the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) of 1951,Washington became the de facto guarantor of (the nominally-sovereign) Philippine national security.
Throughout the Cold War period, Manila stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Washington, providing much-needed logistical support during the Korean and Vietnam wars while hosting the United States’ biggest overseas military bases in Subic and Clark. In the post-Cold War period, however, the Philippines has had to navigate a more fluid strategic landscape, with its leadership exploring new partnerships in an evolving regional order.
After decades of strategic stupor, and amid growing worries over a resurgent China and a wobbly America, Japan has gradually transformed into a key security partner of the Philippines. Philippine President Benigno Aquino’s four-day state visit to Tokyo was one of both great historic and strategic significance.
Read the full story at The Diplomat