We still have some major players, mainly Japan and South Korea, in the region that are strong allies. With the invention of long range bombers Guam has made the Philippines almost completely obsolete. The Philippines is not a major economic or military power. Other than being another tiny allie in the region they serve no purpose and, IMO, they would be more of a liability/burden than an asset if a war ever kicked off (which I really don't think is about to happen any time soon). Their tiny navy and air force would be obliterated in a matter of hours/days of they chose to go up against the US military.
those governments actually value the lives of the people who would be suffering without their help more than Duterte does. Sadly those same people still think Duterte is the great man he's pretending to be. Democracy is weak without good education and equal access to information.
As they say its better to seek forgiveness then to ask permission. I see the Philippines as a needed ally for the US in the region as long as the US see's China and North Korea as a threat. In the case of something their needs to be a port available and someplace to base SE Asian operations from. Japan is really limiting the US military in a number of ways going through Japan and IF something happened Japan would be China's first target likely hit before anyone knew what was going on. South Korea isn't practical as they only really care about keeping North Korea at bay. Philippines however would be easy to manipulate and control if sh*t actually went down and the people would be demanding the government do everything to accomodate the US if it protected them when it was needed. I see the Philippines struggling against the reins of the US and favoring China like a teenager who is wanting to rebel against the parents and as such also hangs with friends they know mommy and daddy won't approve of.
Never been in the military or in a war, but was interested in those that have, thoughts on this front. AFP taps 7,000-strong force vs. Abu Sayyaf Is it like guerrilla warfare and not surprising? It seems that the overwhelming numbers would bring this skirmish to a quick end.
Interesting analogy. How about this one? If you are a parent and your kid starts to act up, how do you handle it? Remain cool, but don't give into his demands because it only encourages the bad behavior in the future or do you give him whatever he wants?
Overwhelming force has been tried many times against guerilla warfare and has almost always failed. Guerilla warfare's very nature is to war against a larger better trained force. B2 bombers and nuclear powered aircraft carriers and F35s are formidable weapons but are virtually useless against a well placed IED. In most cases the guerillas are fighting on their home territory against an invading force. Think Vietnam. At night they often go home to their families as a friend of mine did during the Lebanese civil war in the 80s.
