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Philippines Foreign Military Relations
The Philippines maintained its closest military relations
with the United States. Close contacts were based on cooperative
ventures, such as joint exercises, and on longstanding military
links. Military relations were first established in the colonial
era when the United States helped the Philippines to develop its
military. The United States and the Philippines maintained their
relationship as allies during World War II and the postwar
period. Most Philippine military institutions were modeled after
United States counterparts, and the United States remained the
AFP's principal benefactor in 1990, providing substantial funds
and training. Formal relations between the armed forces of the
two countries were based on two agreements: the 1947 Military
Bases Agreement, which provided for United States facilities in
the Philippines, and the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, between the
Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America.
Under the Mutual Defense Treaty, the Philippines and the
United States each agreed that "an armed attack in the Pacific
Area on either of the Parties would be dangerous to its own peace
and safety." Both nations pledged that in such an event each
"would act to meet the common danger in accordance with its
constitutional processes." The United States government
guaranteed to defend the security of the Philippines against
external aggression but not necessarily against internal
subversion. The treaty was the basis for an annual joint
exercise, known as Balikatan, between the two nations.
Signed in 1947 by the government of the newly independent
Philippines, the Military Bases Agreement originally provided the
United States with ninety-nine years of access. Almost from the
beginning, however, several Military Bases Agreement-related
issues were the subject of controversy in the Philippines,
arousing sometimes strident opposition to the presence of United
States bases. Some Filipinos saw the facilities as an
infringement on Philippine sovereignty and a vestige of the
country's colonial past. Some also charged that the agreement's
rules on criminal jurisdiction shielded United States military
personnel from Philippine law and that the economic and military
aid provided by the United States as compensation was inadequate.
Finally, opponents blamed the United States military for
conditions in towns around the facilities, which were notorious
for their red-light districts and consequent social problems.
Amendments to the text of the Military Bases Agreement
addressed some Philippine concerns but did not quell opposition
altogether. A 1959 amendment shortened the duration of the
agreement with a proviso that either party could terminate the
agreement with one year's notice after 1991. Amendments in 1965
revised legal jurisdiction in criminal and civil matters. After
long and difficult negotiations in the late 1970s, the agreement
again was amended in 1979 to reaffirm Philippine sovereignty over
the bases, ensure the United States unhampered access to the
facilities, and provide for a thorough review of the agreement
every five years. The first review, in 1983, resulted in several
further concessions to Philippine demands for increased
sovereignty. The United States also pledged its best efforts to
provide the Philippines with US$900 million in economic and
military aid over the next five years (1984-88), up from US$500
million over the previous five years. The seven months of
negotiation during the 1988 Military Bases Agreement review were
highly contentious. The United States agreed to increase efforts
to provide the Philippines with US$481 million in aid annually
over the two remaining years of the agreement's fixed term.
In 1990 Philippine and United States representatives began a
new round of negotiations on the future of United States bases.
The 1987 constitution states that a treaty approved by the
Philippine Senate is necessary for foreign bases to remain in the
country after 1991. Only a few of the twenty-two original United
States military facilities established in 1947 remained in the
Philippines in 1990. The two most important were the Subic Bay
Naval Base, in Zambales Province (and the adjacent naval air
station at Cubi Point), and Clark Air Base, a large facility in
Pampanga Province, northwest of Manila. Other ancillary
facilities included John Hay Air Station in Benguet Province, San
Miguel Naval Communications Station in Zambales Province, and
Wallace Air Station in La Union Province.
After preliminary talks in May 1990, negotiations began in
earnest in September and were continued into 1991. Citing
constitutional requirements and the amended Military Bases
Agreement, Philippine negotiators notified United States
officials early in the talks that, without a new treaty, United
States access to the bases would be terminated in 1991.
Philippine officials further stated that their goal was to reach
agreement on United States military phaseout, a move that would
satisfy Philippine sensitivities over sovereignty. At the same
time, Philippine officials were anxious to minimize the adverse
impact of a United States withdrawal on the bases' 22,000 workers
and on the surrounding communities. Before the talks began, a
joint Philippine executive-legislative commission drafted a plan
for the conversion of the bases to Philippine military and
commercial uses. The chief United States negotiator, meanwhile,
announced United States plans to withdraw its air fighter wing at
Clark Air Base as part of an overall plan to reduce forces in the
region.
As part of bases-related compensation, the United States
continued to provide financial, equipment, and logistical support
to the Philippine military throughout the 1980s. The effect of
United States-supplied equipment, training, and logistical
support on the AFP would be difficult to overstate. Most
Philippine military equipment was of United States design or
manufacture, and, despite growing self-reliance and more
Philippine purchases from other countries, United States
assistance provided for most AFP capital procurement. Also, the
United States funded the military education of more than 20,000
Filipinos between 1950 and 1990. In the late 1980s, approximately
seventy officers and senior enlisted personnel studied at United
States military schools each year. Some Filipinos attended the
United States Military Academy at West Point, and a smaller
number graduated from United States naval, air force, and coast
guard academies.
Military relations with regional neighbors were conducted
primarily within the framework of ASEAN. ASEAN had no defense
function, however, and its members were committed to establishing
a "zone of peace, freedom, and neutrality" in the region. Outside
the ASEAN framework, the Philippines conducted joint military
training exercises on a bilateral basis with some regional
neighbors. In addition, members of the Philippine armed forces
trained in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore, as well
as in Britain, Germany, and Belgium.
Data as of June 1991
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