This is where all download will be listed, utilizing the Page Add plugin.
File Name | S21-Policy-Stoa-07-AFF-Philippines.docx |
File Size | 104.18 KB |
Date added | September 12, 2020 |
Category | Archived |
Tags | Debate, Policy, Season 21, Stoa |
The U.S. has a long and sordid history with the Philippines. After they were a colony for decades, the U.S. finally gave them independence. Since then, the relationship between the two countries has been rocky. The current president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has likened himself to Hitler, ordered the killing of many thousand drug users and government opponents, and recently worked against the United States by canceling the Visiting Forces Agreement. He has also called for the U.S. to attack China all the while fostering greater bilateral ties with the PRC.
This case finishes what Duterte began when he cancelled the VFA. It withdraws the U.S. from the Mutual Defense Treaty the two countries signed in 1951. The treaty was originally signed to create a hedge against Russia and to make sure Japan did not reasserted itself after World War 2. Today, the U.S. military presence in the Philippines is meant to counter China. However, having such agreements with an unstable leader like Duterte risks war with China over disputed rocks in the South China Sea. Such a war would certainly harm U.S. interests, since the rocks mean little to the Philippines and much less to us. The U.S. has tried leverage on Duterte before, but it went south, so Minor Repairs that hope to influence Duterte to change aren’t the answer. Canceling the US/Philippine alliance is the best option.