U.S. Military Told To Leave Philippines
An article from CQ Almanac 1991
A series of international and domestic events — ranging from a natural disaster to the breakup of the Soviet Union — turned 1991 into a turning point for relations between the United States and the Philippines. The culmination came Dec. 27, when the government of President Corazon C. Aquino told U.S. troops to leave the country.
The decision signaled the end of the vast U.S. military presence in the area, a presence that dated back to 1898 when control of the islands was wrested from the Spahish.
The Philippines gained independence from the United States in 1946, although the bases continued to play a principal role for U.S. armed forces in the Pacific theater for decades afterward.
In negotiations with the United States throughout 1991, Philippine officials insisted on $825 million in annual U.S. compensation — half in cash and half in trade and other concessions — in return for a seven-year agreement to continue operation of the military bases. U.S. negotiators said they wanted a 10-year pact tied to $360 million in annual aid. The talks were disrupted by a volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in early June that nearly destroyed Clark Air Base and damaged the Subic Bay Naval Station.
But negotiators finally settled on treaty language that would have provided a 10-year lease for the Subic Bay naval base and $203 million in annual aid for the duration. The operating lease for the naval base expired in September 1991. But lawmakers in both countries were unhappy with the agreement. A powerful contingent of Philippine nationalists argued against the base treaty, saying that the presence of the U.S. military amounted to a colonial dominance and an intrusion on Philippine sovereignty. On Sept. 16, the 23-member Philippine Senate voted to reject the base treaty.
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And just last year, they reiterated their position -
The Philippine president says he won’t give US access to more local military bases
You also have Japan bubbling under the surface - particularly with respect to Okinawa, and slowly kicking us the hell out -
US Marines start partial transfer from Okinawa in Japan to Guam under plan agreed 12 years ago
Updated 6:51 AM EDT, December 14, 2024
TOKYO (AP) — The partial transfer of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam began on Saturday, 12 years after Japan and the United States agreed on their realignment to reduce the heavy burden of American troop presence on the southern Japanese island, officials said.
The relocation started with 100 members of III Marine Expeditionary Force stationed on Okinawa moving to the Pacific island for the initial logistical work, the U.S. Marine Corps and Japan’s Defense Ministry said in a joint statement.
Under the plan agreed between Tokyo and Washington in April 2012, about 9,000 of the 19,000 Marines currently stationed on Okinawa are to be moved out of Okinawa, including about 4,000 of them to be moved to Guam in phases. Details, including the size and timing of the next transfer, were not immediately released.
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There is an old saying that might apply here with respect to our bases around the world including the one we have in Greenland (which is pretty much the only place the Vances could go without major heckling and insults) - "
Let sleeping dogs lie".
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