The longest relationship between the United States of America and a Southeast Asian country has been the US military involvement in the Philippines. For almost a century, the US military had use of two major bases in the Philippines, Clark Air Force Base, and Subic Naval Station. It took a strong anti-nuclear, anti-imperialist mass movement and a majority vote in the Philippine Senate to finally end the long US military occupation. The 1991 US military withdrawal from the Philippines was expected to cause a “power vacuum” that would have adverse economic and political effects on the former US colony. Was this really the case in the Philippines? Did the U.S. pull out cause economic havoc and wide spread political unrest or was the Philippine government able to compensate for this great economic and security loss? This paper will examine how the American Military presence influenced the politics and economy of the Philippines and what affect the eventual withdrawal had on the country. It will also examine what the Philippine government has done to compensate for the power vacuum caused by the US Base closures. Though I will rely primarily on outside sources, I will also present my own observations having lived in the former base area (Central Luzon) for two years (1994-1996) immediately following the U.S. base withdrawal.Historical Background to US BasesAfter the United States “liberated” the Philippines from Spanish rule, Subic Bay was designated as principal US naval station in the Philippines in 1901. A naval base was constructed and became operational in 1907. It became the largest training facility for the US Marines prior to World War I. In 1902, Fort Stotsenberg, renamed Clark Air Base in 1947, was established in Pampanga province. After World War II, US and Philippine authorities signed a military bases agreement in March 1947, eight months after the Philippines obtained nominal independence. That s...
