By the Global Network Against Weapons in Space
In February of this year, the US and the Philippines announced that the Pentagon will have access to four more military bases, making a total of nine US military bases in the country.
This announcement comes at a critical time where tensions between China and the US are on the rise. While the war in Ukraine is raging as a proxy war between two nuclear states, the conflicts between China and the US adds fuel to a fire that would immediately drain the economy, involve several countries around the world, and could potentially end the world as we know it.
To understand the critical importance that the Philippines plays in geopolitical tensions, specifically in the tensions between China and Taiwan, including countries Japan, South and North Korea, Russia, Australia and the US, the history of the Philippines shines some light on continued relationship between the Pentagon and the archipelago in southeast Asia.
From colonization by the Spanish for 300 years, to the US-Philippines War at the turn of the 20th century, to a territory (colony) of the United States for several decades, to obtaining flag independence with a military dictatorship who was and is backed by the United States elite, the history of the Philippines and its relationship to the world are ever-more important to understand the potentialities of Asia and the world.