Philippines and US hold joint military exercises

Insight

philippines-and-us-hold-joint-military-exercises

Filipino and American soldiers are sailing toward an island to attack a common enemy. It’s an imagined scenario, but military cooperation is a cornerstone of the decades-long partnership between the Philippines and the United States. A new military agreement signed in 2014 was supposed to strengthen these ties further, but that accord is in danger of getting shelved and these war games could last for a while.

CCTV America’s Barnaby Lo reports. Follow Barnaby Lo ‏on Twitter @barnabychuck

The Philippines and the United States have been holding these war games for such a long time, it is almost unthinkable that these would be the last. But President Rodrigo Duterte has shifted the Philippines’ foreign policy so fast, and so suddenly that it now seems entirely possible.

“I would serve notice to you now that this will be the last military exercise. Jointly, Philippines-U.S., the last one,” President Duterte said in a visit to Vietnam last week.

A few days later, Duterte called for a review of the two-year old Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, and then on Thursday dared the U.S., the European Union and the United Nations to withdraw aid. His cabinet secretaries downplayed the statements initially, but appear to be more in sync with Duterte now.

“Maybe we should re-assess (the relationship). Are we benefiting, are we getting what we should be getting from alliance or the Americans as well Is it time for us to look at other source of our materials It is part of this growing up,” Philippines Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.

And while anti-U.S. activists have traditionally marked U.S.-Philippines war games with angry protests, this time around they took to the streets to express their support for a foreign policy Duterte has described as independent. It is a controversial stance in a country heavily influenced by the West, but one that is also gaining support among a greater number of Filipinos.


History of defense alliance between US and Philippines

From occupier to ally, the U.S. military has long had a complicated relationship with its former colony, the Philippines.

CCTV’s Nathan King looks at the decades of co-operation and friction between Washington and Manila.


Teng Jianqun on Philippine’s international relations

For more about Philippine’s international relations, CCTV America’s Mike Walter interviewed Director for the Center of Arms Control at the China Institute of International Studies, Teng Jianqun.