It is really complicated and would take me several pages to lay out. Here is a hint as to what it is all about though.
The US and the coming constitutional coup in the PhilippinesIs the US angling to take advantage of Charter Change to finally scrap national patrimony provisions in the constitution?
BY HERBERT DOCENA
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While lamenting the outbreak of political instability triggered by allegations of electoral fraud against Arroyo, Dana Dillon of the Heritage Foundation sees a silver lining. He writes: “The good news is that the scandal has forced both the Philippine Congress and the President to begin the process of reforming the Philippine constitution.”<1>
While Dillon’s July 18 essay entitled “Crisis in the Philippines: What does it mean for the US?” is by no means a conclusive declaration of US policy, it gives a hint of how Washington may be playing its hand in the country’s latest political crisis.
Dillon, Heritage’s resident specialist on the Philippines, d0es well to implicitly remind us what the three overarching interests of the United States are in the country: First, the US wants to continue deepening the US and the Philippine militaries’ relationships in the so-called “war against terror.” Second, the US wants the Philippines to continue opening up its economy to trade, pay its foreign debt, and ensure a conducive environment for foreign investments. Finally, the US does not want the Philippines to fall into China’s embrace.
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The prominent RAND Corporation, for example, also stresses the need to keep the Philippines out of China’s loop and – like the neo-conservative Project for the New American Century (PNAC) – has advocated coopting the Philippine military and using the country’s territory for power-projection in the region.
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http://www.focusweb.org/Article654.htmlSome more info...
GMA thanks US for Aragoncillo-Aquino indictmentPresident Arroyo thanked Friday the US government for apprehending and prosecuting former police officer Michael Ray Aquino and former US Marine Leandro Aragoncillo.
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http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=18457http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=18455