Re-establish US Bases?

**donbuggy** · April 28th, 2012 08:22 PM

^ Too late. In the presidential elections of 1981, Bartolome Cabangbang of the Federalist Party campaigned for the Philippines to be the 51st state of the U.S. He lost.

**Altis6453** · April 28th, 2012 10:15 PM

Not a good idea, either for the USA or the PH.

**foresterx** · April 28th, 2012 11:07 PM

Originally Posted by Altis6453

Not a good idea, either for the USA or the PH.

can you explain why?

to me yes i want them to have a base here since our country can't defend itself. it doesn't have to be the USA we just need some one strong to have on our side so we won't be bullied by other countries so easily. the USA has bases all over the world on other countries and work out just fine, i can't understand why here in the philippines it's such a big issue.

**111prez** · April 29th, 2012 12:29 AM

the US even has bases in countries that can defend itself like japan, korea, germany, UK ......

**Gerbo** · April 29th, 2012 12:47 AM

Originally Posted by Altis6453

Not a good idea, either for the USA or the PH.

For the US, the huge population of PH will be bigger than California and Texas for the electoral college votes.

Puerto Rico was not even made into a US state despite being a stone's throw from the mainland.

**barako ba ma** · April 29th, 2012 08:21 AM

Originally Posted by 111prez

the US even has bases in countries that can defend itself like japan, korea, germany, UK ......

germany, a very productive country and heavily industrialized, does not like the idea of the u.s. bases closing in their area. it is a give and take. the u.s. puts billions of dollars into the country every year for the use of some property they have. it employs thousands of locals, puts money into their local businesses and they only have to concentrate in producing for the gnp. they do not have the big need of spending for defense since the u.s. is already in the house. the u.s. in turn saves money and lives for having a staging point closer to the middle east conflict and closer to medical attention at the landstuhl medical center near ramstein air base. it is not all bad. our people blamed the u.s. for the abuse of women and prostitution. has it gone better or has it gone worse since the us. navy and the u.s. air force pulled out of the country? i guess no matter who, even the locals (filipinos) are frequent flyers of these establishments of horizontal ballet.

**Altis6453** · April 29th, 2012 05:08 PM

Originally Posted by foresterx

can you explain why?

to me yes i want them to have a base here since our country can't defend itself. it doesn't have to be the USA we just need some one strong to have on our side so we won't be bullied by other countries so easily. the USA has bases all over the world on other countries and work out just fine, i can't understand why here in the philippines it's such a big issue.

Don't get me wrong. I'd like them here too, if only to dissuade our Chinese neighbors on their thoughts of expansionism. Then again, there are some consequences to ponder for that kind of deterrence.

It isn't a good idea for the US because they're fighting two wars at the moment and will likely spread their forces out thin if they commit troops and military equipment to another base in the Pacific. Moreover, there will be little political support from the US Congress since this will entail billions of US$ in taxpayer's money spending for establishing a military base.

For the PH, we're in a bit of a quandary because having a base or bases here with foreign troops will invite the same problems which we and other countries with foreign military bases have (i.e. abuses against locals, rise of red light districts, etc.).

What would be better is for the US to help build up the AFP's capacity to deal with external aggression by fast tracking the transfer of more modern naval and air assets and to train our enlisted men and women on how to use them. You see, there is an old street adage that says "a bully is a bully until it gets punched in the nose". Having a credible self-defense posture and a willingness to use it to enforce our sovreignty in our sea will earn us a measure of respect, not just from the big bully but by our other neighbors, as well.

**111prez** · April 29th, 2012 06:34 PM

it is possible that china will start putting up structures on panatag shoal and even with the protestations of the philippines to the UN and other international bodies, we will still not be able to do anything about it except just rant and rant

**yapoy86** · April 29th, 2012 06:55 PM

lahat kasi ng pinoy eh magaling ang tingin sa sarili.. madami ang MAMARU.. (MAMARU = Nagmamarunong)...

example lang mga PUV drivers... lahat yan magaling mag drive....

**safeorigin** · April 29th, 2012 07:14 PM

Hmmm... to be honest this had me thinking. If we can't defend our own turf, chances are (and history tells us), we'll lost our turf. Bootlicking for US bases is just a temporary solution given the American empire's volatility. Worse, the stand off puts economic restrains as investors would likely pull off if it turns into a mess.

So how do we claim such islands? Populate it with squatters!

Am I crazy? Nah. The Russians sent people to the disputed Kuril Islands. The Japanese Ultranationalists still can't do squat about it.