10 Years - Back To the Philippines

[medi]

Late last month was the ten year anniversary of EDCA and I suppose that a whole bunch of U.S. citizens weren't too well briefed when this all started ten years ago, nor have received much news about how it has been developing, but I can tell y'all, we're back. And this is no small deal. In fact, this thread's idea came to me because of a report I received a few hours ago about what seems to be more land reclamation work (if that's the right vocabulary) --- it seems some of the U.S. & PI naval folks think the China folks are back to work building their neat little artificial islands --- well, just one more maybe started within the last 24 or so hours. (That's not really reclamation, is it?)

Okay, so what's up with all this written stuff about being back and 10 years and on and on and on.

Let me start with a recent dispatch out of our embassy folks in the PI:

https://ph.usembassy.gov/joint-stat...s-united-states-bilateral-strategic-dialogue/

And then I did some digging around for a news site that would load in a reasonable manner to show you a media report that has been floating around on many news sites:

Sleepy far-flung towns in the Philippines will host US forces returning to counter China threats

SANTA ANA, Philippines (AP) — The far-flung coastal town of Santa Ana in the northeastern tip of the Philippine mainland has long been known by tourists mostly for its beaches,

www.thestar.com

Then I decided to turn to our Navy folks and let them give you a decent summary:

There and Back and There Again: U.S. Military Bases in the Philippines

The history of U.S. military bases in the Philippines offers key insights for overseas basing.

www.usni.org

And let me paste some of the end of that USNI document:

From the U.S. perspective, the eviction of U.S. forces during the early 1990s remains a painful memory. The perception of the Philippines as an unreliable and ungrateful ally engenders caution about providing a robust U.S. security commitment. Moreover, former President Rodrigo Duterte’s open hostility toward the alliance and appeasement of China damaged relations.

From the Philippine perspective, it fears abandonment in the face of Chinese hostility on the one hand and entrapment in a major war on the other. The lack of U.S. resolve to stand by its ally during the Scarborough Shoal standoff of 2012 is one often-cited example of abandonment. Furthermore, Philippine officials remain cautious in public statements regarding the operational use of their bases out of fear the country may be dragged into a major war.

Nevertheless, relations between the two countries have improved since the election of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who understands well the threat China poses to Philippine sovereignty and the importance of the U.S.-Philippine alliance to balance that threat. The United States should continue to seize this opportunity to build a stronger relationship by scaling up its security cooperation through larger joint exercises, modernizing the AFP, and constructing base infrastructure on the nine bases provided under the EDCA. Most important, both allies must demonstrate to each other, and to the entire region, that they are reliable partners. For the United States, this means accepting greater risk and possible confrontation on behalf of the Philippines to challenge violations of territorial sovereignty and international law. For the Philippines, this means U.S. forces must have the operational flexibility to use Philippine bases for the broader purpose of regional security rather than just territorial defense.

Revitalizing the U.S.-Philippine alliance must be accomplished not by words, but by actions. It is one thing to say the U.S.-Philippine alliance is “ironclad.” It is another thing to prove it.