US Policy Failure in the Philippines Has Deep Roots: Decades of American Cultural Hubris
US Policy Failure in the Philippines Has Deep Roots: Decades of American Cultural Hubris by Mark J. Valencia - South China Morning Post
The decision by President Rodrigo Duterte to terminate the Philippines’ Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States has met with a cacophony of wailing and gnashing of teeth in the US foreign policy community. This might soon be followed by recriminations over “who lost the Philippines”.
But Duterte’s move to officially distance the Philippines from the US militarily was long in coming and should have been foreseen. Indeed, this particular US foreign policy failure is the inevitable result of blinkered diplomatic ignorance and arrogance.
The reactions of Asia policy wonks have ranged from panicky predictions of a serious blow to the US’ hub-and-spokes alliance system in Asia (as well as its “war on terror”) to variations on “don’t worry, this too shall pass” (“this” being the Duterte administration, that is).
Writing in the Japan Times, Brad Glosserman asserts that Manila’s termination of the VFA makes another pact with Washington, the Mutual Defence Treaty, “almost impossible to administer”…