US Military Presence Expanding Again in the Philippines – A Discussion with the Tadems (part 1)

A Dispatch from Andre Vltchek & Crista Priscilla

US Flag lowered and Philippine flag raised during turnover of NS Subic Bay, in 1992.  A photo op without real substance. Now all of the country’s military installations will be used at the discretion of the Pentagon. 

The good light in which the US is perceived today by many Filipinos is the result of extremely successful propaganda comparing the US with Spanish imperialism…and the ignorance and short memory of most people. Now the old imperialist is back, seeking to use the Philippines again for its designs in the region, and to enlist Filipinos in Washington’s attempt to encircle China.

In this interview, Prof. Eduardo Tadem and his wife, Teresa, focus on a new development of enormous international importance, the de facto integration of US and Filipino military, especially in terms of free use of Filipino military bases and installations by US forces. This is no longer just the right to set up huge American bases in the Philippines, like Subic Bay (the largest US base till its closure in 1992), but the Pentagon’s leave to do with this longstanding vassal country’s own military infrastructure as it pleases. This is neocolonialism on steroids, yet the story remains totally under-reported on the American press.