Philippines Welcomes More US Troops At Home: Will It Be Worth It? | Insight | Full Episode

in a landmark deal the Philippines has agreed to host more American troops in its territory People's Republic of China continues to advance its illegitimate claims in the west Philippine Sea counter to China expansion the only way is a military Alliance is and this even up the Power Balance in the South China Sea um or will it drag the Filipino people into the superpower rivalry [Music] thank you [Music] foreign somewhere in the South China Sea an eerie green blow Cut Across The Rosy dusk sky it was a laser beam fired from a Chinese Coast Guard vessel aimed at its Filipino counterpart well this laser incident is actually the second time the first instance that they use military grade laser was last year June of last year I would say it's a dangerous because one it cost a temporary blindness we still don't know whether it would be temporary or it will have a permanent effect to the vision of our Coast Guard sailors vessel was on route to deliver supplies to troops stationed at the second Thomas shawl part of the spratly islands it is a group of atolls and Islands claimed by both China and the Philippines to the Filipinos it was another act in a string of provocations by Chinese forces [Music] on numerous occasions there had been close calls and near misses between ships as the two Nations jostle over the disputed Waters there's some very heavy waves and the strong current the tendency is that if you're these two vessels are moving fast and you come so close there is a possibility of collision that's why there is a certain distance that you really have to keep what is happening in between the Philippine Coastline and the Chinese Coast Guard vessels that they have bigger vessels we have smaller ones it's just like driving the [ __ ] if a big truck will cut you across of course that's very dangerous on your part if you're a smaller car M the Philippines filed almost 200 diplomatic complaints against aggressive Chinese actions at sea laser pointing incident of course and the dangerous Maneuvers every time we document that the Philippine Coast Guard are report that to the National task force West Philippine Sea and then it's where the department of Foreign Affairs to evaluate whether that particular incident would deserve to be a filed for a note verbal or any diplomatic protest but such encounters could soon take on a different tone a few days before the laser incident the U.S and the Philippines reached a landmark agreement a deal to increase the American Military footprint in this fraud region it's just part of our efforts to modernize our alliance and these efforts are especially important as a People's Republic of China continues to advance its illegitimate claims in the west Philippine Sea foreign troops are barred from having a permanent presence in the Philippines however the 2014 enhanced defense cooperation agreement or Edgar allows for the rotation of the American forces on the archipelago stationed in Philippine bases so these are of course operated and has is under the control of the Philippine government through the Philippine military and therefore these are not zones of complete autonomy and freedom for for U.S forces so I think Edgar somehow veers away from the traditional notion that you have to have foreign bases in a country something that I is a very unpopular idea for a lot of Filipinos given our history since World War II the U.S and the Philippines have signed a number of Defense packs a military basis agreement allowed the U.S to lease and control military sites in the Philippines the mutual defense treaty committed both countries to come to the others Aid in the event of an attack the visiting forces agreements simplified procedures for U.S troops to operate in the Philippines and the enhanced defense cooperation agreement gave the American Military access to Filipino facilities currently under Edgar the five bases that U.S troops can operate out of are foot maxese lumbia Air Base Antonio Bautista air base and basa Air Base and soon there will be more in a new agreement the number of bases will be increased to nine there are four exercises uh so um scattered around around the Philippines there are some in the north there are some around Palawan there's some further south us China [Music] [Music] communist ideology no power comes from the barrel of the gun so the doctrine is to achieve a credible defense posture and in the in the calculation of the military having allies traditional allies it's all this Ally like the United States is a helpful addition to its pursuit to have a posture of credible deterrence at the center Sino Filipino tensions are a group of Island chains the Scarborough Shoal and the spratleys the Philippines asserts that these Island groups align within its exclusive economic zone but the Chinese also lay claim over this territory citing the nine Dash lines drawn on its historical Maps no do you east of the Scarborough Shore lies the Filipino province of zambales here the turquoise Waters of the South China Sea are the communities lifeblood [Music] a living out of what they can haul from its steps 39 years [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] in 2016 the permanent Court of arbitration in The Hague ruled that the Scarborough show belongs to the Philippines but till date Beijing has refused to recognize the tribunal's decision and Filipino sovereignty is Chinese Maritime forces now Patrol these Waters boyet has heard stories of Chinese intimidation tactics foreign foreign [Music] their soil a bull walk against perceived Chinese aggression is uh [Music] Filipinas [Music] a Pilipinas but will the expansion of U.S forces torpedo relations between China and the Philippines [Music] in the northern Philippine province of kagaya fishermen gather on the pier of the apari port trying the luck with the rod and line sitting at the mouth of the kagayan river the pier is designed to accommodate vessels up to 500 feet in length but it has set idle for over a decade floods and typhoons have silted the surrounding Waters preventing ships from docking reopening the port has become governor Manor mumba's a top priority our plan is to reopen our part of a party our gateway to Northeast Asia because we want kataya to be the international Gateway of Luzon to Northeast Asia Northeast Asia now is the economic move of the world with China or South Korea and Japan to rehabilitate the port the sea floor will have to be dredged increasing its depth from 4 to 12 meters but this will be an expensive process with an eye-watering price tag close to 200 million US dollars the Chinese however have offered to bankroll the project our Port is the mural port to all ports in China what does that mean if you want to enter China the port of a party if and when it is open it would be practically everything it will become a heavy industrial form in fact the business [Music] has been selected for a new base to host American troops under the expanded enhanced defense cooperation agreement this despite governor mamba's misgivings there's tension on whether closer ties with the Americans would mean alienating the Chinese [Music] furthermore we see China as our biggest Market of our products we are at agriculture fishery and livestocks I'd rather foreign [Music] than somebody who is far far away just before the pandemic China became the second largest foreign investor in the Philippines after Singapore reflects the country's pivot to China begun under President duterte under President duterte's terminal is but uh the Lino Pilipinas sachina for what four or five years to appease the Chinese duterte distance himself from the U.S he threatened to suspend a defense packs including the visiting forces agreement and the annual joint military exercise nicknamed balikatan or shoulder to shoulder in Target I want maybe in the next two years my country freed of depressions of foreign military jobs I want them out and if I have to revise or abrogate agreements executive agreements I will but all of these cautionary I would say measures adopted by the Detroit Administration has not benefited the Philippine strategic interests particularly in the west Philippine Sea because Chinese incursions has not only continued but has increased and intensified despite the the gesture of cordiality being extended by the duterte administration [Music] but even as president duterte sought to Cozy up to his Northern neighbor there was an anvil hanging around his neck the status of the Scarborough Shore as Beijing continued to ignore the Philippines territory claims domestic resentment grew oh Jackson so in a way Philippines have basically tried everything in terms of policy and yet Chinese Behavior actually become more aggressive under a supposed accommodationist and to some a defeatist policy of the duterte administration your ultimate objective is and on the economic front some questioned the benefits of closer sino-philippine relations in the historic Center of Manila the binando intramuros bridge spans 680 meters across the pasig river the 69 million dollar Arch is part of a 24 billion funding and investment package promised by Beijing under the Belton Road initiative but it is a promise some observers say that Rings Hollow as many slated projects have not materialized foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] it gives hope to people given the decentralized nature of territorial governance in the Philippines so local government units can actually embark on diplomatic initiatives uh without clearance to the national government a lot of the local officials in in provinces like Cagayan and and Palawan have embarked on Cooperative Ventures for example with China so in a way uh provinces like Palawan and Cagayan are localized sites of U.S China strategic competition Governor Mumba fears that the U.S presence will drive away Chinese investors in kagayan a grim Prospect for one of the poorest regions in the Philippines [Music] we have good relations with the Chinese during our pandemic and during our during our disasters now don't think for us please try to get most of the people foreign so there is some pushback for example from the local government of Cagayan that they don't want to be caught in the middle of a possible conflict between superpowers within their own environment but uh I think in terms of local interest and National interest it is quite clear that the Philippine national government can can assert and and simply tell the local government that you have no choice on the matter that you will just have to follow because we're still a unitary state we're not a federal state we're in we're in provinces like Cagayan could say no to to the federal government for example but on the other hand the influx of American troops could bring its own reward already Washington has pledged 82 million dollars to improve the existing five bases under Edgar however there is a dark side to the return of U.S troops one which could reopen Old Wounds [Music] foreign [Music] set to return to Philippines in larger numbers the storied history between the two Nations will once again come to the fall it is a history that dates back to 1898 when the Philippines became a U.S colony American sovereignty ended when the archipelago was briefly occupied by the Japanese in the Second World War following the defeat of Japan the Philippines was granted Independence in 1946. [Music] ceremony a new nation is born however under the military basis agreement the U.S continued to occupy two military outposts in the archipelago the U.S naval base at Subic Bay and the clock Airfield these became important staging points during the Korean and Vietnam Wars geography is Destiny for for a lot of countries and on the part of the Philippines historically it has always been a staging point for the projection of power of any major uh Power in in the region this is why for a long time it has the biggest U.S military installations in the Asia Pacific with Subic and Clark and uh to an extent U.S power projection in Asia has always included the Philippines in in their calculation but amidst growing resentment of continued U.S presence and disagreement over the lease price of the facilities the U.S eventually handed Clark and Subic Bay over to the Philippines by 1992. which were then converted to civilian use [Music] Friday evening in Olongapo a city of two hundred thousand it lies just beyond the gates of what was once Subic Bay Naval Base now a free port dance music thrum from the local clubs along maxese Street The Hub of olongapo's nightlife [Music] it is a busy night for Barona Joel Mirza before opening his Club in 2013 he already had fond Boyhood memories of the seaside City [Music] um entertainment [Music] station in the Philippines their presence brought considerable economic benefits to the locals [Music] for just by Barcelona um estimated that in 1990 American troops contributed between 1.7 to 3 percent of the Philippines gross national product the Subic Bay Naval Base pumped at 220 million dollars into the local economy providing jobs for 40 000 Filipinos more than 150 000 people depended on income from the base while Joel's Club enjoys brisk business tonight it is nothing compared to olongapo's Heyday [Music] s but the American presence also brought social ills as sleazy bars and CD brothels proliferated in the 70s and 80s olangapo gained a notorious reputation as the sin city of the Philippines [Music] I know 40 years ago just barely out of her teens Alma bulawan found a job as a bar waitress in olangapo but like many young women here she soon found herself pressured into sex work for women's services customers would pay what is known as a bar fine to the bar manager is 12 hours 24 hours but 12 hours management once now wait there is by some estimates there were around 15 000 Entertainer girls working in olangapo before the withdrawal of American troops foreign [Music] works at buchholt Center a non-profit advocating for women in the sex trade her own time in the scene had changed her life irrevocably at just 24 years old she found herself pregnant by a customer uh American [Music] a merry Asian is a term given to Children of local women fathered by American soldiers when the U.S military left in 1992 after the Handover of Subic Bay it was estimated that there were over 50 000 Ameri Asians in the Philippines like Alma's son many never knew their fathers [Music] you're you're annoying your prostitute you're working in our house should I that's my you know child ishness [Music] Mary Asians were stigmatized due to the illegitimate status many grew up in poverty raised by single mothers because of these social harms growing anti-American sentiments Summit in the Philippines and when the new visiting forces agreement was approved in 1999 protests erupted in the streets found a name for it which is the visiting forces agreement because it basically you know indicates the forces are just visiting but we knew for a fact that it is not merely visiting you know a short term that it is actually a continuation of the U.S presence particularly the military uh presence in the Philippines and that's why we were against it what do you call this Corazon fabros is the co-president of the International Peace Bureau an anti-war advocacy group she's also part of the scrap vfa movement for me it is very important our status and our capability as a Sovereign Nation we cannot be that if we have foreign military forces in our country if you look at the agreement itself no for sure it gives a lot of benefits and a lot of privileges to the U.S troops they don't need a visa to come in they don't need permission there are actually 21 ports around the Philippines where they can come in you know during ship visits or use the airport the vfa also affords American troops legal protections if an American Soldier is accused of a crime the U.S military can request jurisdiction over the case it also retains custody of its Personnel while judicial procedures are ongoing in the years that followed two Grim events would turn the world's eyes to olangapo city and test the limits of the vfa in 2005 a woman named Suzette Nicholas accused American landscorporal Daniel Smith of raping her then in 2014 an American serviceman Joseph Pemberton was accused of killing Jennifer Lord a trans woman in both cases citing the vfa the U.S refused to hand over custody of the accused to Filipino authorities before the conclusion of judicial proceedings it's true that the the rapist was eventually convicted but you know he was surrendered to the United States and that means he has not served his sentence based on what any ordinary Filipino citizen should be undergoing Smith was eventually acquitted in Pemberton pardoned by president duterte and therefore most of the things that are requested by the United States even if it's not in the interest of the Philippines that is given to them we have had very high profile cases of abuse of rape of of even killings of Filipino citizens by U.S soldiers and the historical experiences that the U.S has always protected and evaded Justice because of the asymmetrical relationship between the Philippines and the United States so this is why it's so easy to invoke such negative sentiments over U.S presidents because of this historical trauma and negative perception over the immunity of U.S citizens and U.S Personnel in Philippines soil for some like karazhan and Alma the expansion of U.S forces could once again disrupt the social fabric of the Philippines [Music] Americano I you know at Liberty Liberty day you know they have to have good time and unfortunately most of these people when they say good time it involves women huh so we're definitely against it perhaps the sins of the past can serve as lessons for the future [Music] social media but tensions over America's return are not simply domestic how will a bigger U.S military footprint change the complexion of superpower rivalry in Southeast Asia foreign [Music] 2022 the Philippines and the U.S held their largest joint military exercise in seven years the war games were conducted in the final months of Rodrigo duterte's presidency a sharp U-turn from his previous anti-American rhetoric so what you gonna do up and down just like that beautiful so right now we are still getting I think a major factor for the change has been the rapidity as well as the intensity of pandemic assistance afforded by the United States something that the Philippines thought that China will fill in but somehow that plan wasn't followed through like in terms of vaccines in terms of other forms of pandemic assistance continued under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr coming at a time when American and Chinese contestation intensifies strategic environment of the Philippines from 2012 has drastically changed to to today 2023. since uh 2012 the region has become hotter in terms of U.S China competition or rivalry right this has intensified and has put countries like the Philippines small states in the middle of this superpower rivalry in the region under an expanded enhanced defense cooperation agreement the U.S will have access to four more bases in the Philippines proposed sites include Palawan facing the South China Sea and more crucially the archipelago's closest province to Taiwan Cagayan um foreign there are 150 000 Filipinos working in Taiwan this huge number in any case of a an intensified situation in industry this might be the biggest repatriation that will likely happen I think the Marcos Administration has some calculation of the country's own national interests and it has something to do with how do you deal with protecting your own citizens and making sure they get home in case conflict erupts industry but there is another perspective one that says the expansion puts the Philippines in the line of fire you know this is feeding in the Western narrative that the enemy is China but if you really think very hard about this situation who is profiting or who is gaining out of this situation who gains in billions of dollars when there is war the one who is making a killing out of a situation of war is the United States they sell the arms they sell all these fighter jets and everything including what the soldiers will wear so for me this kind of War we're not we're never the winner [Music] the people NE is never the winner that is theirs that is their race whether you like it or not because they have to defend themselves I think that this uh as a small states in in Southeast Asia that we cannot simply just pull ourselves away from U.S China competition this is a major strategic and security issue facing not just the Philippines but all the other small states Beijing was Swift to condemn the base expansions issuing a warning to the Philippines foreign I just think that they should just be more forthcoming with that rather than uh wrap uh their rhetoric with a patronizing attitude that of Philippines your interests are going to be affected don't trust a lot of these foreign countries right but who has not behaved as a good neighbor who has intruded into our Sovereign territory and who has continued to to treat us as if we're children who could be fooled by Major powers [Applause] the past six or seven years the Philippines government's approach and perspective has always been what would China think what would other powers think right and I don't know that that is the best way to protect your national interests perhaps reflecting this the Filipinos generally have a negative opinion of the Chinese in one survey only a third of respondents trusted China compared to almost 9 out of ten who trust America but for those who oppose the presence of U.S troops this is not about picking sides it has something to do with our sovereignty as a nation I could compare that to a situation where you have somebody who stays in your house you know with all the ammunitions and all the the firearms that they are going to use you know how on Earth can you ask this this visitor which they are supposed to be you know how can you say get out of my house historically you know uh whether we like it or not the only way so that we can really uh you know assert that the Philippines is a Sovereign Nation it's not to have any foreign troops in its territory nonetheless the Marcos administration's pivot to America does not mean turning its back on China on a January trip to Beijing the Philippine president vowed to strengthen ties with his Northern neighbor president there's always been that apprehension that every time the Philippines revitalizes or gets closer to the US that means that there is a corresponding deterioration of its relationship with with China but as what other Southeast Asian countries have shown that it is able to to manage uh relationship between the two superpowers so Philippine foreign policy and strategic policy should be clear that there is no zero-sum game here the relation American troops could return to Subic Bay 30 years after they left in the nearby city of olangapo there are many whose arms are open in welcome forward Metropolitan Authority sbma so [Music] um [Music] with the confirmation of the new base locations the return of American troops is imminent and although Alma is apprehensive her story at least has a bittersweet ending after 35 years last year through DNA testing she managed to track down her son's American father foreign [Music] [Music] I Pro Hindi [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: CNA Insider

Views: 3,129,839

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Id: acVyWS-pRwc

Length: 47min 28sec (2848 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 11 2023