EAST ASIA
Philippine-American
Cooperation
Talks Begin
Excerpt from statement prepared for
Kenneth M. Quinn, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for East Asian and
Pacific Affairs, and delivered by James P.
Nach, Office of Philippine Affairs, before
the Subcommittees on Asian and Pacific
Affairs, House Foreign. Affairs Commit"\ "
tee, October 3, 1990.'
U.S. Policy Towards the Aquino
Government
United States support for the Philippine
Government remains firm and constant.
It would be a great tragedy for the
people of the Philippines and for U.S.
interests in that country and in the
region if democracy suffered another
blow at the hands of coup plotters and
self-seeking elements whose goal is to
take power for themselves and turn
back the clock. Military rule has no
more chance than the discredited tenets
of Communism to bring to the Philippines the success it needs in combatting
poverty, corruption, and deficiencies in
essential social services.
Democratic government is not the
easy way, but it is the way the Filipino
people have chosen for themselves, and
they deserve our full and continued support in this effort to make democracy
successful.
Our policy towards the Philippines
is, therefore, clear and straightforward:
We continue our unequivocal support
for the democratically elected government of President Aquino, and we will
continue to assist the Philippine Government and Filipino people. U.S. law is
also clear. Assistance to any country
whose democratically elected head of
government is deposed by military coup
or decree will be suspended. Those
who are engaged in efforts to destabilize the constitutional government and
who may be considering another coup
attempt need to be aware that the U.S.
Government is united in this view.
We have a unique relationship with
the Philippines, one which has grown
over the years into a mature relationship between two equal and sovereign
nations with shared mterests and aspirations. Our assistance takes many forms,
befitting the complex relationship we
have shared with the Philippines for
58
nearly a century. Unfortunately, all too
often some have sought to measure this
relationship in terms of foreign assistance levels or military bases. Its true
strength is based not on money, but on
common values and common aspirations. Filipinos and Americans have
worked together in many areas that are
less well known but perhaps more indicative of these shared values. To mention only two, Filipino and American
doctors pioneered together an oral
rehydration formula which has saved
the lives of millions of children all over
the world; and it was Philippine and
American initiatives that helped save so
many of the boat people from Indochina over the last decade.
Mr. Chairman, the world is changing rapidly, and so too our relationship
with the Philippines has been and must
continue to change. We remain firmly
linked as allies and partners, but the
shape of the relationship needs to be adjusted from time to time. The Philippine-American Cooperation
Talks - PACT, for short - that began in
Manila last month are a reflection of
this process. In these talks, we are discussing not only the security dimension
but also the many other aspects of
where we want our bilateral ties to lead.
This is a time for frankness among
friends as well as vision about the future. It is an of opportunity to forge
new relationships, new strengths, and
new cooperation for the future. Success
will be m terms of mutual benefits and
cooperation in keeping with the shared
history of our two nations.
The Philippines faces difficult challenges. While there is a role for the
United States and other nations in encouraging and assisting reform and
development, the greatest burden will
be borne by the Filipino people. It is
our firm conviction that democratic
government remains the only acceptable course for the Philippines. Experience has shown that a democracy
has the best chance of implementing
lasting solutions to economic and social
problems. As the Aquino Government
continues its agenda, we hope to see
continued change and acceleration of
economic and military reforms designed
to deal with the serious problems facing
the country.
with the Philippines consistent with our
common interests. The existing 1947
Military Bases Agreement, amended
many times, will be replaced. Although
we do not share the Philippine
Government's interpretation of termination timing, we agreed to enter into
negotiations for a new agreement.
The first round of talks — our side is
led by Special Negotiator Richard L.
Armitage — ended September 22 with
general agreement on the need for a
long-term defense relationship and
cooperation in non-defense areas. The
GOP [Government of the Philippines]
made clear its sovereignty concerns and
expressed a desire to take full control of
facilities at Clark Air Base by September 1991. The GOP gave no position on
Subic Naval Base. We agreed to explore the possibility of cooperation in
the areas of science and technology,
health, education and cultural affairs,
veterans affairs, and economic issues.
Technical experts will exchange views
prior to the next round of negotiations
to be held soon in Manila. The first
round of talks helped to examine the
views and desires of both sides. There
were no final decisions. With PACT discussions continuing, it is premature to
comment on any specifics related to the
talks, or to speculate on the outcome.
Since World War II, our use of
military facilities in the Philippines has
contributed to stability in one of the
most economically and strategically important regions in the world. In a time
of rapidly shifting world priorities and
changing threats, the U.S. military
presence has enhanced Philippine
security and underscored our support
for stability and economic growth
throughout [the] East Asia and Pacific
region. Training and maintenance of
our Pacific air and naval forces are currently enhanced by the use of these
facilities.
Our interest in the economic and
democratic development of the Philippines is also served by the U.S. security
presence. Our total contribution to the
Philippine economy directly related to
the bases is over a billion dollars annually, about evenly distributed between
base-related military and economic assistance and spending by U.S. forces
and personnel.
Philippine-American Cooperation Talks
Our goal in the Philippine-American
Cooperation talks that began in Manila
last month is to forge a new relationship
1 The complete transcript of the hearings
will be published by the committee and will be
available from the Superintendent of Documents,
U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington,
D.C. 20402.
Foreign Policy Bulletin