Defend Philippine Sovereignty! No to unequal treaties!
Malaya Movement USA condemns the addition of four military bases from which the U.S. can operate out of in the Philippines as part of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). This will bring the total to nine bases the Philippine political elite has surrendered to US control.
The past six months Malacañang has entertained a parade of U.S. officials who’ve embraced the Marcos Jr. regime’s ill-repute while simultaneously declaring their so-called commitment to human rights. From the delegates who attended his inauguration back in June, Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit in November to this latest visit by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Marcos Jr. is cementing deals that completely undermine the sovereignty of the Philippines and the long term safety and security of the Filipino people.
It’s not surprising that Marcos Jr. grants increased control to the US military. Marcos Jr, like his father, is trying to play a dangerous game of playing both superpowers. Marcos Jr’s logic is to benefit from the rivalry between the U.S. and China. But instead, this type of foreign policy is placing the Philippines in the dangerous crossfire. We condemn Marcos Jr for his dangerous foreign policy.
We, in the Malaya Movement USA, join the chorus of voices demanding a halt to the expansion of U.S. military presence in the Philippines. We demand to end all unequal treaties such as the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). These treaties are not only ineffective and unnecessary, they are also contradictory to Philippine sovereignty and harmful to the interests of the Filipino people.
EDCA makes the Philippines a de-facto US military base, even if US and Philippine officials claim otherwise. These military bases are under full control of the US and can be used for training, defense materiel and equipment storage. It makes a mockery of the decades-long movement that successfully booted the US military out in 1992 by instead “renting” Philippine bases.
EDCA works hand-in-hand with the Visiting Forces Agreement which has allowed the US to protect military personnel who commit crimes in the Philippines from criminal accountability, like in the case of Jennifer Laude, a trans Filipina woman who was murdered by US Marine, Joseph Scott Pemberton. While there exists counterpart agreements for Philippine personnel on US soil, the nature of such treaties is inherently unequal given the gaping power imbalance between the Philippines and the US.
While EDCA is touted as an agreement to “promote peace and security in the region,” the mere presence of US military in the region poses a unique danger to the Philippines. As Chinese incursion and attacks continue to rise in the West Philippine Sea, increased US military presence will escalate tensions in the region. In a clash of two superpowers, the Philippines doesn’t stand to gain by allying itself with one or the other. It must chart an independent foreign policy that puts Filipino interests at the center.
It is our view in Malaya Movement USA that the welfare of the Filipino people and the sovereignty of our lands and our waters must come before the interests of superpowers whose interest lies in using the Philippines, its land and its people, as pawns and cannon fodder in this dangerous geopolitical rivalry.
Defend Philippine Sovereignty!
No to expansion of U.S. military presence in the Philippines!
No to unequal treaties!
