Return to Subic Bay

https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/subic-bay-regains-its-importance-as-a-forward-base

This is just further evidence that the United States plans to stay in the Philippines and return the archipelago nation to its former status as a major host for US forces - a tip of the American spear in the strategic South China Sea.

Subic Bay was abandoned at the conclusion of the Cold War. The US relationship with Manila had been put under stress (largely due to the US backing of the 1965-1986 Marcos dictatorship), and there was a push to downsize and shift to other theatres. The straw that broke the camel's back was the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, a devastating and destructive event that left much of the region buried under ash. The clean-up costs and logistics were going to be terrible - the Pentagon decided it was time to walk away. Clark Air Base closed in 1991 and Subic Bay in 1992.

American Militarism, the Philippines, and the Media

https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/in-manila-u-s-defense-secretary-commits-to-protecting-philippines

Marcos has committed his country to the path of war, and yet is this really what the people of the Philippines want? Do they understand what it will mean when the US has bases there - when it stages missiles batteries there?

Washington's Latest Moves Against Beijing

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/21/quad-leaders-meet-in-bidens-hometown-amid-growing-china-competition

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/china-testing-us-all-joe-biden-caught-on-mic-telling-quad-leaders-101726970216499.html

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/biden-proposes-banning-chinese-vehicles-us-roads-with-software-crackdown-2024-09-23/

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/09/economist-calls-trumps-threat-to-tariff-countries-that-shun-the-dollar-a-lose-lose.html

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-keeps-missile-system-philippines-china-tensions-rise-tests-wartime-deployment-2024-09-19/

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3279516/us-typhon-missile-system-philippines-has-china-facing-more-tense-security-situation

At the end of September, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or QUAD met in Delaware. This is the most comprehensive of the new network of alliances created by Washington to combat China. The Quad is comprised of India, Japan, Australia, and the United States. This is in addition to AUKUS which has a more robust security element. What's important about the Quad is that it incorporates India and as such is critical to the US 'Indo-Pacific' framing of geo-politics and strategy vis-à-vis Beijing. AUKUS has more teeth but the Quad has the potential to be more important.

The Pentagon, Vaccines, and Geopolitical Games that Kill People

https://www.democracynow.org/2024/6/20/pentagon_china_vaccines

This story reminded me of how America is a moral beacon to the world. Because the United States didn't want China to make money and earn standing they pushed a disinformation campaign - the sort of campaigns that we're daily told are being conducted by the likes of China and Russia.

Manila Throws in with AUKUS Against Beijing

https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/historic-speech-from-philippines-president-makes-veiled-swipe-at-china/news-story/3b5593d7b992f340701d23510d061883

At the end of February 2024, Ferdinand 'BongBong' Marcos spoke before the Australian Parliament. It was an important speech, especially for the East Asian theatre and though described as 'historic' it was hardly covered in the West.

The Drums of War in the Asia-Pacific

https://www.maritime-executive.com/editorials/report-china-is-on-course-to-overtake-america-s-naval-capabilities

If you read the article carefully, the argument can be made that the headline is guilty of sensationalism. America is clearly in the position of supremacy but that margin of domination is not what it was thirty years ago. This I think is probably self-evident and hardly surprising to anyone.

The Echoes of War in Asia

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2022/04/10/indonesia-us-war-games/

Even as the War in Ukraine rages on and the eye of the world is focused on the NATO frontier, there are storm clouds forming over Asia and signs that US militarism is preparing to assert itself on the Chinese frontier as well. Far from being passive, the Biden administration has been at the forefront of the re-assertion of the US Empire.

ASEAN and the Russian Navy

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/12/01/russia-asean-naval-drills/

The move by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to hold joint naval drills with Russia is a slap in the face to China but on a far greater level to the United States which has earnestly sought to court these nations since the Obama era. It sends a clear signal that the ASEAN members are not willing to simply bow to the US, nor are they willing to trust Washington to any quantifiable degree. They're going to hedge their bets and keep all options open – which for the US represents a diplomatic defeat.

Building the Anti-Beijing Bloc: The Biden Pivot and the Philippines

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/07/30/philippines-us-military-deal/

During the course of his tenure, Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte has lashed out at Washington. Angry at the long years of US domination of his country and the hypocritical condemnation by Washington of his administration for its brutal policies – he may at last be shifting gears. While he officially is maintaining his 'independent' foreign policy, his days of cozying up to China may be at an end. Time will tell but signals suggest Manila may be pivoting back into the American camp.

Asia is Marching Toward War

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/05/20/japan-must-speed-up-defense-says-minister/

Though it is often presented as a preventative measure, a type of peace through strength, the truth is militarism always results in conflict. And Japan has been rattling the sabre for some time. The Japanese Right is eager to re-arm and re-assert its traditional role in the Asian theatre. They view Japan as a great power on par with Western nations and now 75 years after its defeat in WWII – it's time for Japan to re-assume its place.

The Media Lays the Groundwork for Duterte's Ouster

Rodrigo Duterte now joins Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the list of Western Media pariahs. These figures are being set up for removal. If they won't go quietly through parliamentary machinations, scandal or some other means, eventually the military or the covert-ops people (jackals) get involved.

Well, the covert-ops people are already involved. They're already working all the angles. They're working assets within the media complex as well as stirring up political, social and economic trouble on the ground. That's true in Turkey and if not already it will soon be the case in the Philippines.

China, the US, UNCLOS and Australia

The UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) represents a classic case of US manipulation and hypocrisy. Washington helped to craft the treaty and has utilised it as a standard by which to judge and even coerce other nations.

But the United States itself refuses to be party to it. The US instead plays by a different set of rules and extends its boundary waters far beyond the claims of any other nation.

Varieties of the Drug War: The Duterte Model and the USA

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-drugs-death-idUSKCN10B03D

Duterte wishes to implement a police state. Interestingly a War on Drugs is a vehicle he is employing to bring this about. Under the pretense of cleaning up society, he's actually subjugating it and expanding his power.

Bloodsport, Profits and Social Ethics

Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, a professing Christian made disparaging comments about homosexuals. While correct, I find these public declarations are sometimes less than helpful.

The Asian Cold War: A Mysterious Shooting in the Philippines

We will probably never know the full story. I am reminded of the Ray Davis incident in Pakistan. A fuller version of the story later came out, but at the time of the incident, it was just a mysterious blurb in the press.