Filipinos grow divided over return of US military

Ever since the Bush Administration opened a new front in its war on terror in the southern Philippines, this gray city wedged between a former US airbase and the volcanic Mt. Pinatubo has been a hive of activity.

Downtown, citizens are mobilizing against what they claim is a US effort to reestablish a permanent military presence in its former colony. Last Saturday, 200 people packed into a sweltering hall to hear speakers denounce the "neo-imperialist" United States.

"This is an attack on our sovereignty - the Americans don't really intend to leave," says a woman who identifies herself as Dr. Madrid.

Across town near a dusty stretch of low-slung bars and brothels, near what used to be Clark Airforce Base, some people are sprucing up - and banking on a US return. "It would be great for business," says Shawn Reyes, manager of the Kitten Club. "We've struggled since the base closed."

Somewhere between those two women lies a debate that is gripping not only Filipino society, but much of Southeast Asia. The war on terror has boosted the US military presence in a region from which it was waning just a few years ago, stirring up both pleasant and bitter memories, ranging from US colonialism to the US role as a bulwark against China in the cold war.

This week, the US military began a joint exercise with the Philippines that will see about 660 US soldiers deployed in the south, about 150 them will be special forces officers on patrol with local soldiers hunting the Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf.

But Philippine officials said yesterday that US military advisers will stay at the field camps and provide advice, with little chance of coming under fire."My guidance is that they will not join combat operations," Philippine Chief of Staff Diomedio Villanueva told the Senate, which is probing allegations that the joint exercise violates the Constitution.

Throughout the region, the US is viewed with a mixture of admiration and fear: A source of investment in good times that can instantly turn into a bully when times go bad.

Indonesian politicians worry that the US may take unilateral action against alleged terrorists there and also in Malaysia. There are concerns that the US will act without regional consultation. In fact, the US and the Philippines armies have added training exercises for this year, and the two governments are currently negotiating an agreement that will give US forces easier access to Philippines bases.

Senator Rodolfo Biazon has been a leading critic of the combat role of US troops. "Indonesia, Malaysia, even Thailand must be watching what's going on here with some concern,'' says Senator Biazon. "We're being used as case study for the creation of the rules that will be used in pursuit of global terror."

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