American Forces asked to leave the Southern Philippines

[Jack Peterson]

2 hours ago, Mr. Bobo said:

This man is a fool, alienating the US in not a good thing for the Philippines. This man is dangerous and will do no good for the Philippine

 My fault Robert, I picked up the wrong Post Sorry mate. You used the whole Quote in your reply and I picked out the bit I wanted 

Edited September 14, 2016 by Jack Peterson
trying to put things right.

[Snowy79]

Maybe Duterte is smarter than we give him credit for. Has anyone thought that he might actually be trying to gain favour with the Chinese? You only have to look at how many Chinese flights and tourists you get into the Philippines to see that it's not all hate towards the Chinese. I'd guess China has the potential to pump more money into the Philippines than the USA. What's to stop him letting the Chinese have military bases on some of the islands? I'm sure the Chinese could easily help out with the terrorist situation.

[Jack Peterson]

8 minutes ago, Snowy79 said:

Maybe Duterte is smarter than we give him credit for. Has anyone thought that he might actually be trying to gain favour with the Chinese?

 Certainly Food for Thought

[jon1]

11 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

Looking into it further and having listened to a few locals it appears that Duterte sees some of the recent uprisings being due to foreign personal being in so called Muslim areas. He highlighted if the ABUS see Americans whether they are black or white they will kill them or hold them for ransom. He's been showing the media pictures of women and children killed by Americans during the Bud Dajo massacre further stoking anti USA sentiment.

I think anyone that has spent time in the forces is aware of how different enemies react to certain countries military. No disrespect to any country's army but I've seen it where one country's army goes into an area and they're attacked left right and centre. Another country's army goes in and the enemy disappear. Even amongst the military we all have armies that if we had to rely on we'd not be happy. I'd even go as far as saying when I was serving if you found out certain regiments were your back up you'd think "sh@t".

I'm sure Duterte has enough contacts in the area to know that by talking down the USA he knows things might be stopped from escalating elsewhere in the Philippines.

If you ask the average Zamboangueno (Zamboanga City) about the current state of affairs there, they are lamenting the removal of the US Troops from there. Upon the deactivation of JSOTF-P, the ASG and Radical Muslim movements promptly jumped into the power void. Something that the PAF/PNP refused to or were unable to do. They have been in a perpetual "Red Alert" since then. Plenty of murders, extortion and kidnappings (non-whites, Filipino, Chinese, etc.). 

 

When the US first arrived in Zamboanga City in 2002, it was the wild west. Ships would not stay in port overnight (afraid of being looted), people would close their shops and stores shortly after sunset. Roll forward 2-3 years and businesses were booming, ports always full, people out till midnight or longer without fear. Post-US pullout, back to the previous state of affairs. The average citizen sees it and now has a taste of true peace which has promptly disappeared.

[Snowy79]

I'm looking at it like a game of chess. The Philippines doesn't have many interests outside it's own lands. They've no history of helping other countries to dispose of their oil and other natural resources and have no requirement to hold strategic locations to protect their overseas interests. At a rough guess I'd say the USA has a lot to lose by not kissing a bit of rump. A good negotiator could easily play of the USA and China to see who can be beneficial to the Philippines. Imagine if Duterte gave China permission to build a major naval base in say Palawan. It would seriously inhibit the USA in protecting it's Asian interests. China is already buying up a lot of Western interests and annoying the likes of the USA. Even here in the UK a lot of businesses and properties have been bought by the Chinese. If I was Duterte I'd be making friends with China and welcome their cash to invest in the country. Imagine China running the telecommunications and service industry. Improvements would go through the roof and the Philippine economy would boom. 

[Jollygoodfellow]

just a reminder that government agency's have and do read forums so lets watch what you say and call our host country president.

[Gratefuled]

6 hours ago, Mr. Bobo said:

This man is a fool, alienating the US in not a good thing for the Philippines. This man is dangerous and will do no good for the Philippine people.

I agree. Great minds think alike. GMTA

[Gratefuled]

3 hours ago, jon1 said:

When the US first arrived in Zamboanga City in 2002, it was the wild west. Ships would not stay in port overnight (afraid of being looted), people would close their shops and stores shortly after sunset. Roll forward 2-3 years and businesses were booming, ports always full, people out till midnight or longer without fear. Post-US pullout, back to the previous state of affairs. The average citizen sees it and now has a taste of true peace which has promptly disappeared.

Correct and I might add that the mayor of Zamboanga is/was totally against the BBL which would have given Muslims the right to establish Sharia Law in the land that they would have occupied under the bill. Slowly but surely the non Muslims would have been persecuted and driven out. The result, more land domination by Muslims. 

[Mr. Bobo]

10 hours ago, Gratefuled said:

I've already told my wife that I am ready to go on a moments notice. 

Am I paranoid? No, but I am not foolish, either.

When living in this country one must have a Plan A, Plan B, and a Plan C. I know that I do!

[Snowy79]

I think Duterte is smarter than a lot of people give him credit for. He might be more up front than the West are used to in politicians but ultimately the outcome is usually the same. How many times have we heard our politicians speak nicely about countries and then proceed to take advantage of them at every opportunity. The media are partly to blame. If Duterte is that bad for saying a few words and it'll affect Western relations and possible trade then how come the West still kiss butt with Arab nations who outright abuse the West and our values at every opportunity.

Look at the human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, China, Russia etc yet the West are more than happy to hold state banquets for their leaders and do trade deals with them. It's double standards in my mind. Ultimately it's up to the Philippine people to decide how their country is run. If they believe in the actions of Duterte he'll continue to have the majority support. The others will either secretly agree but go against it as they are the opposition parties and can't be seen to support him or they will genuinely disagree in principle.

We look at things living by our comfortable Western standards, sadly the majority of Filipinos look it from living day to day to survive. They don't have a lot to lose either way. Maybe Duterte's way of doing thing might bring about the change that's needed. All it will take is some covert talks with the Muslim extremists. Offer to remove Western influences from their area in return for turning a blind eye as long as the local people don't suffer but have the ace card of letting them know that their new friends in China might have some vested interest in going after them if they rock the boat. A couple of years of peace and booming trade deals with China, standards rise for the average Filipino and he will soon become a living god to the people. The West although it's pumped a lot of aid into the Philippines has only sat back whilst it's been distributed amongst the rich. If Duterte starts kicking butt and redistributing the wealth he's on to a winner.