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In Philippines, G.I. Joe is Back

Washington, Manila close to new military accord

Friday, August 2, 2002
By Kari Huus
MSNBC



Reuters contributed to this story

Residents in Zamboanga turn out in support of U.S. military troops who were involved in counterterror mission training with the Philippines military.
Image Credit: l'Agence France-Presse (AFP).

After the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, the first Asian leader to step up was Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who offered “unqualified support” for the United States in its Afghanistan campaign, including use of Philippines military bases for refueling and resupply.

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In booking Colin Powell’s current tour of Asia, the State Department sought to ensure the trip would end on a positive note -- in the Philippines. It’s not that U.S. operations on this “second front” in the war on terror have been an unqualified success -- they haven’t been. But in Manila, the secretary of state will be on hand to celebrate the revival of military ties with a key Asia Pacific ally, one that only a decade ago expelled U.S. forces from its territory. In the long run, that accomplishment may be more significant than the battle with bandits raging in the jungle.

Powell meets leaders in Manila on Saturday, just days after the end of Operation Balikatan, translated as “shoulder to shoulder.” The six-month-long joint counterterror operation, which includes about 1,000 U.S. personnel on the ground, made Operation Balikatan the biggest U.S. deployment outside of Afghanistan in the U.S.-led war on terrorism. It was by far the biggest joint operation between the two armed forces since the Philippines informed the United States it would have to vacate its two huge bases a decade ago.

Powell is expected to discuss holding more and, according to local press reports, much larger joint military exercises in October, with continued focus on combating terrorism.

Still more significant, the war on terrorism has breathed new life into a long-stalled negotiation over a deal to allow regular U.S. military access and support in the Philippines. The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) is likely to be finalized during or shortly after Powell’s visit.

“The Balikatan exercises wouldn’t have happened, the amount of military assistance that came (to the Philippines) would not have come, and the MLSA would not have had such support without Sept. 11,” says Paulo Pasicolan, a policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation.

Image Credit: MSNBC.

All along there has been vocal opposition to a U.S. military presence in the Philippines by nationalists and politicians who helped force the closure of the U.S. base at Subic Bay and Clark Air Force Base, then the two largest U.S. facilities in the region. That ended a century that included a long period of colonial rule from Washington, and then a less formal domination of the Philippines throughout the Cold War. To many, the closing of the bases represented true independence for the first time since Spain colonized the island chain in the 1600s.

Amid lingering political sensitivity after the bases were closed, the relationship languished. Washington and Manila negotiated for years before finally signing a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) in 1998 to allow for joint military exercises under carefully proscribed conditions. The MLSA is even more important to the United States -- allowing access to bases for refueling, reprovisioning and repair to U.S. ships on a regular basis, without a case-by-case debate.

Inevitably, as Balikatan ended and Powell prepared to arrive, protesters marched on the U.S. Embassy with signs reading: “Powell, you’re not welcome here” and “Go home, G.I. Joe, don’t come back.” But the influence of these protesters is dwindling.

* Unqualified Support
* Mixed Results
* Second Front?
(More: MSNBC.com News Source)
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Dan