U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth praised the Philippines for complying with the US demand to increase defense spending and commit to “burden sharing” as the US military continues to expand its presence across Asia-Pacific.
This is a shameful pat on the back coming from a former master that has succeeded in entrenching its i neocolonial hold on the Philippine client state under the puppet regime of Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr Over the past four years, Marcos Jr has colluded with the US to install additional military installations under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) intended as facilities for the forward operations of the US military and for stockpiling of weapons including missile systems and other war materiel. Marcos Jr has also expanded the scope of year-round military exercises that have involved the militaries of US allies for its singular purpose of containing China.
In other words, “burden sharing” became a code for allowing the US to convert the entire Philippine territory into a huge military base, training ground, and launching pad for its military aggression and intervention. What “interoperability with US forces” actually means is giving the US military full access to our territories and deploying Philippine troops as US cannon fodder for its proxy wars and conflicts.
Hegseth’s praise also confirmed that it is the US that imposed a higher budget allocation for defense despite the people’s clamor to prioritize social services,support local producers and revive the failing economy. It also exposes Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro’s complete subservience to the dictates of his patrons in the US as he pursues the US-dictated all-out war approach in dealing with the CPP-NPA-NDF instead of resuming the stalled peace process and addressing the roots of the armed conflict.
The Trump government wanted to ensure that the Philippines has allotted adequate funds to procure weapons and defense technologies from the US military, even if what theFilipino people need is a budget designed to serve the basic needs of Filipino families and economic relief for the poor.
The US-imposed higher defense spending benefits corrupt officials in the security cluster and the Marcos government. This bloated war budget also enables the brutal rollout of the US-backed counterinsurgency program that terrorizes communities and engenders violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
Bayan calls on fellow Filipinos to condemn the continuing and unrestrained US military intervention in the country, and the treasonous role of the Marcos government in carrying out a foreign policy and security doctrine that serves the geopolitical agenda and interest of US imperialism.
Let us mark June 12 with protests to highlight the country’s sham independence amid continuing foreign dominance, and let us continue to fight for genuine freedom and sovereignty.