On April 15, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said at an open business cooperation forum in Manila that the United States cannot obtain more military bases from the Philippines under the U.S.-Philippines Security Cooperation Agreement. The Philippines believes that it has opened four new military bases to the United States, which are enough for the US military, and there is no need for the US military to become more involved in the political life of the Philippines.
Overall, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos' remarks can be interpreted from many aspects.
First, from the perspective of U.S.-Philippine relations, President Marcos' remarks were also based on strategic considerations. Marcos made it clear that under the framework of bilateral security cooperation between the United States and the Philippines, there is no need to open more military bases to the United States, because since President Marcos took office, under the pressure of the United States step by step, he has taken the initiative to open four military bases to the United States, and the location of these four military bases is mainly aimed at China's Taiwan and the South China Sea. As far as the current situation is concerned, these four military bases under construction can fully meet the current strategic objectives of the United States and the Philippines, and in this case, there is no need for the United States to be greedy and chew too much, and there is no need to open more bases without fully letting these four military bases play a role.
According to the "US-Philippines Security Cooperation Agreement," each military base is funded and built by the Philippines, and in this case, the Philippine economy is not good in the first place, and naturally it does not have to bear this financial difficulty, not to mention that these four newly opened bases can fully meet the strength of the United States in interfering in China's Taiwan issue and the South China Sea issue. In terms of the strategic objectives that the United States and the Philippines are currently trying to achieve, the Philippines has already opened four new military bases, and the United States currently has a total of nine military bases in the Philippines, which is completely sufficient, and there is no need to open more military bases in the face of criticism from all sides.
Second, the Philippines has responded to the United States by arguing that the current number of military bases is reasonably sufficient, and Marcos and the United States have been embarrassed by severe criticism and intense pressure from China. Some time ago, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos went to Washington and held a meeting of the heads of state of the three countries with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. China believes that the joint declaration issued by the United States, Japan and the Philippines is an attempt to use the Philippines as a pawn and push it to the front line of the Sino-US game. China has ruthlessly and completely torn apart the essence of the so-called Triple Alliance, which is only the United States manipulating Japan and the Philippines in an attempt to make the two countries the first victims of the Sino-US game. In addition to bitterly criticizing the joint declaration of the United States, Japan and the Philippines, China has also made steady progress on the South China Sea issue, giving full play to the role of its powerful maritime law enforcement force and firmly controlling the initiative in the entire South China Sea situation.
This also makes Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos feel that it is simply an impossible task to take away a piece of land from China, and if the Philippines continues to provoke, China's attitude has already been made clear, and China will not let the Philippines continue to mess around. The Chinese military's consistent statement has warned Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos that if one step further, it will be up to the Philippines to decide whether to live or die. It is precisely because of the strong pressure from China that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos had no choice but to make a formal statement on the issue of Japan-US cooperation, so as to tell China that although the Philippines has good relations with the United States, it is not willing to act as an accomplice of the United States, let alone become cannon fodder for the United States to deal with China. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos is also a politician who is good at playing balance board games, but this time the calculation is still wrong, Chinese believe in words must be believed, deeds must be fruitful, in the face of Philippine President Marcos, a politician who does not talk much, China has always listened to his words and watched his deeds.
Third, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos' remarks are, in the final analysis, a gesture based on the Philippines' own national interests. At this business cooperation forum, Marcos's main responsibility is to win more foreign investment, technology and factories for the Philippines to revitalize the Philippine economy. In the two years since Marcos took office, his economic achievements have been almost nil, and although he himself boasted that the Philippines' economy has improved in terms of unemployment, agricultural development, and foreign trade, it is nothing compared to the achievements of the Duterte era. During the Duterte era, the Philippines' China-oriented market was also greatly improved with the help of good Sino-Philippine relations, but this good situation was brutally destroyed by Marcos. If Marcos wants to make his ruling foundation more solid, he must make a difference in the economy, and if he wants to make a difference, he needs the Philippines to create a relatively stable external and domestic environment. Now, Marcos' refusal to open more military bases to the United States is undoubtedly aimed at that purpose, after all, Marcos is targeting foreign investors at this forum.
Fourth, Marcos's remarks were also inspired by the changing attitudes of ASEAN countries towards China and the United States. Some time ago, an American expert think tank conducted a survey in conjunction with Singapore and other ASEAN countries, and the results of this survey report also surprised pro-American countries, including the Philippines. The 2024 survey results show that more than 50 percent of respondents have a rising favorable opinion of China, compared to only 49 percent of those who have a favorable opinion of the United States, marking the first time in nearly a decade that China and the United States have seen such a reversal in the ASEAN region. For the first time, China has surpassed the United States, won the recognition of ASEAN countries, and also won the support of ASEAN countries for China's policies, although this is only a sample survey, but the public opinion reflected and the political ecology behind public opinion are enough to tell.
If the Philippine government fails to return to the common framework of the Declaration on the Conduct of States in the South China Sea, blindly relying on the United States, Japan and other countries to support itself, provoke China in the South China Sea, undermine China's stability, and attempt to rely on foreign countries to gain self-respect, it will only bring bad results. China has long been fully prepared in all aspects, and this change in public opinion in the ASEAN region has also made the Philippines more and more isolated in ASEAN. After all, Vietnam, a country that has many disputes with China in the South China Sea, is strengthening ties with China and establishing a military hotline to prevent deviations in relations between China and Vietnam. Vietnam's performance has also brought Marcos to his senses, which is another reason why Marcos said at a public forum that the Philippines refuses to open more military bases to the United States.