Earlier this month, negotiations between the United States and the Philippines to sharply increase the number of US troops regularly rotating through Philippine bases hit a snag. Critics claimed American demands, if met, would undermine Philippine sovereignty. Increasingly, it seemed, prospects for an accord this year looked shaky.
Then typhoon Haiyan hit.
Since the ferocious storm blasted the archipelago and laid waste to the city of Tacloban Friday, the Filipino media have carried images of US military personnel aiding relief operations.
Will the US use the humanitarian aid excuse to stay in the Philippines as they continue the Pentagon strategy of surrounding China? Peace activists in the Philippines and throughout the world fear this will be the case.
Until the US renounces the use of violence to settle conflicts, and renames the military the Natural Guard, suspicions will continue to grow.
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