Washington’s Political Capture of the Philippines: A Former Colony, Now a Future Proxy

- The US is transforming the Philippines into a belligerent proxy against China which happens to be the nation’s largest and most important trade partner;

- The US is using the pretext of China’s supposed threat to maritime trade in the South China Sea, despite the majority of traffic through its waters coming from and going to China and its trade partners, including the Philippines;

- The US had previously colonized the Philippines, brutalizing its population and upon granting it “independence,” continued to impose itself on the government, including through one-sided treaties and perpetual military occupation;

- While the Philippines does have maritime disputes with China, it also has multiple disputes with other nations claiming territory in the South China Sea, the US has selectively inserted itself into disputes with China to escalate them into dangerous conflicts;

- The US is using escalation to justify a military build-up in the region, including within the territory of the Philippines;

- By alienating China, the current government of the Philippines is foregoing trade and infrastructure development and redirecting public funds into military spending at the expense of the nation’s own best interests;

Mirrored - The New Atlas