ABSTRACT
The United States and the Philippines have developed a special relationship over a span of twenty years. The Philippines, long viewed as the “odd man out” in Asia, had come to occupy center stage in the years of Marcos. A communist takeover could spark regional conflict over issues like refugees, territorial disputes, and the emergence of an anti-communist resistance in the Philippines. A radicalization of the Philippines and an ouster of the United States (US) likely would threaten the unity of Association of Southeast Asian Nations. A communist takeover of the Philippines, and a subsequent ouster of US bases, would have provided the Soviet Union with a major strategic gain in the Southwest Pacific. The inability of the Philippines to pay its foreign debt resulted in a cutoff of foreign capital which Philippines businesses had used to finance imports. The Philippines’ ability to sustain growth beyond 1988 is more uncertain.
