Washington's Next Step in the Use & Abuse of the Philippines

- The US had previously possessed the Philippines as a colony from 1898-1945 including brutally suppressing a war of independence killing over 200k Filipinos, including the use concentration camps and torture;

- Since gaining its independence from the US, Washington has used the Philippines as part of a long-standing policy of containing China along the "Southeast Asia front;"

- The US has maintained the presence of its military forces in the Philippines for decades, breifly facing expulsion under the adminstration of President Rodrigo Duterte, then expanding it recently with the election of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.;

- The US has previously and deliberately lied to the Philippine public about fabricated threats Chinese healthcare products posed during the recent healthcare crisis;

- The US is now militarizing the Philippines through a $500 million military assistance package, using ordinary maritime disputes in the South China Sea as a pretext to stir up conflict between the Philippines and its largest trade partner, China;

- Philippine subordination to the US has caused the nation to fall behind the rest of Southeast Asia, having the 2nd largest population but 6th largest GDP;

- Like Ukraine, the Philippines stands to lose much more if the political capture, use, and abuse of the nation continues by Washington;

References:

US State Department, Office of the Historian - The Philippine-American War, 1899–1902:
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/war
US State Department, Office of the Historian - Courses of Action in Vietnam (1965):
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v03/d189
Reuters - Pentagon ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China during pandemic (June 14, 2024):
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-covid-propaganda/
Reuters - U.S. told Philippines it made ‘missteps’ in secret anti-vax propaganda effort (July 26, 2024):
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-told-philippines-it-made-missteps-secret-anti-vax-propaganda-effort-2024-07-26/
Harvard University’s Atlas of Economic Complexity - Philippines Exports by Partner (2021):
https://atlas.cid.harvard.edu/explore?country=174&queryLevel=location&product=undefined&year=2021&productClass=HS&target=Partner&partner=undefined&startYear=undefined
Statista - Leading trading partners for imports to the Philippines in 2023, by FOB value (2023):
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1140217/philippines-import-value-major-trade-partners-by-country-or-region/#:~:text=China%20was%20the%20leading%20import,U.S.%20dollars%20worth%20of%20imports.
CSIS, China Power - How Much Trade Transits the South China Sea?:
https://chinapower.csis.org/much-trade-transits-south-china-sea/
SCMP - China-Philippines ties on ‘brink of total breakdown’: unpacking the collapse (June 2024):
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3268506/china-philippines-ties-brink-total-breakdown-unpacking-collapse
US Department of Defense - Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles "CQ" Brown Jr Hold a Press Conference (July 25, 2024):
https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3850467/secretary-of-defense-lloyd-j-austin-iii-and-chairman-of-the-joint-chiefs-of-sta/
Defense One - Austin heads to Asia with $500M for the Philippines (July 26, 2024):
https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2024/07/austin-heads-asia-500-mil-philippines/398358/
CSIS - The First Battle of the Next War: Wargaming a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan (January 2023):
https://www.csis.org/analysis/first-battle-next-war-wargaming-chinese-invasion-taiwan

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