IT does well to note that in 200 years, the foreign policy of the United States of America has not changed.
In his farewell letter in 1796, President George Washington wrote: “It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliance with any portion of the foreign world.” Founding father and third US President Thomas Jefferson said in his first Inaugural Address, “Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations—entangling alliances with none.”
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger echoed that policy in the 1980s, saying: “America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests.”
Since independence, the Philippines has stayed closely in the sphere of US interests although paying lip service to the Non-Aligned Movement in 1993 after the US bases were removed. But during the height of the Cold War between the USSR and the US, the Philippines was firmly in the US camp.
President Duterte has created waves by looking to China and Russia for greater engagement, which has caused some confusion among the opposition. Earlier this year a column on a Web-based news service concluded with the phrase “China-loving Duterte” while also writing that US military has gained a forward base in the Philippines based on furthering an agreement signed during the previous Aquino administration.
The political opposition must also be confused by the public opinion of trust for both President Duterte and the United States and China. In the latest opinion survey, Duterte received an 85-percent rating for “Big Trust” and 4 percent for “Small/No Trust.”
In an opinion poll taken at the same time, the US is trusted by 89 percent of the people and China is not trusted by 74 percent. A poll taken late in 2018 showed that 61 percent believed that the US could be trusted to defend the Philippines against an invasion. Since then, some are calling for the president to be more forceful in getting the US to protect Philippine interests against China.
The US has alternately shown its willing to confront China over the West Philippine Sea issues and an unwillingness to get further involved in a “regional issue.” A few days ago a top Australian defense strategist wrote that China’s quest for regional dominance in the South China Sea has been helped by President Donald J. Trump’s inactivity.
Comments in recent days by US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper may escalate the situation and could be filed under “be careful for what you wish for.”
Esper said that he was in favor of placing ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles in Asia relatively soon. From Reuters: “Yeah, I would like to,” Esper said, when asked whether he was considering placing such missiles in Asia. “I would prefer months…but these things tend to take longer than you expect,” he told reporters.
While these comments are undoubtedly a “trial balloon” for both Beijing and Southeast Asian capitals, it will be interesting to see how this is viewed by those who see China as a threat that needs to be strongly confronted. Likewise, those that are less concerned with Chinese aggression and more open to a balanced foreign policy will also have their ideas challenged.
Image credits: AP/Bullit Marquez
1 comment
China bullying Philippines fisherman is the eye witness to all nations country is alert on this that China is not helping us but a great disasters to our Philippine Republic???