WASHINGTON — China's assertive behavior is breathing life into
America's historically tumultuous relationship with the Philippines.
With Washington turning its attention more to the Asia-Pacific
region, the U.S. and the Philippines last week held the first joint
meeting of their top diplomats and defense chiefs. The U.S. increased
military aid and resolved to help its ally on maritime security.
The steps came with the Philippines locked in a standoff with China
over competing territorial claims in the South China Sea that has stoked
passions on both sides. The U.S. is walking a delicate diplomatic line.
It doesn't want the dispute to escalate, but it is showing where its
strategic interests lie.
The relationship between the U.S. and its former colony thrived
during the Cold War but ebbed after nationalist political forces
prompted the closure of American military bases in 1992. As the U.S.
seeks to build a stronger presence in Southeast Asia, a region it
neglected during the past decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the
alliance is assuming growing importance.
For its part, the Philippines is looking to Washington and its allies
to help equip and train the nation's bedraggled military, to put up a
show of resistance to Chinese vessels that frequently wade into waters
Manila considers to lie within its exclusive economic zone.
Ernest Bower, director of the Southeast Asia program at the Center
for Strategic and International Studies, said it is very important for
the U.S. to solidify its ties with its traditional allies in the region.
"The relationship with the Philippines went south when the U.S. lost
Subic Bay (naval base) and Clark (Air Base). The hangover is wearing off
and interests are aligning again."
But for both sides, managing the new chapter in their alliance is something of a balancing act and carries its own risks.
Nationalist sentiments still make an increased American military
presence in the Philippines a sensitive issue, and its law forbids a
foreign base on its soil. Like other Southeast Asian nations, the
Philippines does not want to alienate the region's economic powerhouse,
with which it aims to have $60 billion in two-way trade by 2016.
And the U.S. also still needs to get along with China to prevent their strategic rivalry from spiraling into confrontation.
The 60-year-old mutual defense treaty between the U.S. and the
Philippines has the potential to put Washington in hot water in
standoffs like the one playing out at the Scarborough Shoal, where
Philippine and Chinese vessels have been facing off since April 10.
Manila appears adamant that the U.S. would be duty-bound to come to the
Philippines' assistance should a conflict break out, but the U.S. has
hedged on the issue.
The broader trend is that for the past two years the U.S. has
declared its "national interest" in freedom of navigation and peaceful
settlement of disputes in the busy South China Sea. It has expanded its
military cooperation with the Philippines into maritime security after a
decade of focusing on fighting al-Qaida-linked militants in the
country's south. And the U.S. has increased its foreign military
financing to the Philippines, which was slashed last year, to $30
million this year, double what was initially budgeted.
That, however, is little above its 2010 level, and scarcely enough to
retool the decrepit Philippine fleet. To help in that effort, the U.S.
last year supplied a 45-year-old Coast Guard cutter to the Philippines,
now a flag ship in its navy, which headed briefly to the Scarborough
Shoal at the start of the standoff. The U.S. plans to send a second
cutter to its ally this fall and is also helping the Philippines develop
its "Coast Watch" system — a network of about 20 radar stations tied to
a central database in Luzon that is meant to help the island nation
monitor its whole coastline.
Whether the intensified U.S. interest will help the Philippines build
the "minimum credible defense" it aspires to have is another matter.
President Benigno Aquino has increased the defense budget, but it
remains meager compared with most of its Southeast Asian neighbors — let
alone China's spending, which is outstripped only by America's. The
Philippines says it is looking to the U.S. to provide more patrol boats
and aircraft, and according to U.S. officials, is also seeking help from
other allies such as South Korea, Japan and Australia.
Peter Chalk, a senior political analyst with Rand Corp. think tank,
said the U.S. gifting of old hardware is a mixed blessing for the
Philippines, as it is responsible for the upkeep and getting spare parts
is difficult. It also risks undermining the larger goal of modernizing
the Philippine military, which wants more up-to-date equipment and
training — although there are doubts about the Philippines' ability to
pay for it and maintain it.
"It's nice to get stuff you don't pay for, but that's not helping
defense reform and modernization which the government wants," Chalk
said.
In a sign of the possible pitfalls, the 76mm main gun on the first
cutter, the Gregorio del Pilar, suffered a glitch that the Philippines
has to repair.
More details of the deepened U.S.-Philippine security cooperation are
likely to emerge when Aquino visits the White House this summer.
Last year, the U.S. announced deployments of forces in northern
Australia and plans to dock Navy vessels in Singapore, as it rolls out
its strategic pivot toward the Asia-Pacific. There are expectations that
a planned relocation of troops from Japan could involve more troop
rotations through the Philippines as well.
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SunStar.Com.Ph | May 12, 2012 | Article Link
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