{"id":33460,"date":"2026-10-26T11:13:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T11:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=33460"},"modified":"2026-10-26T11:13:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T11:13:22","slug":"bankrolling-american-empire-in-the-philippines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=33460","title":{"rendered":"Bankrolling American Empire in the Philippines"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"wp-block-intercept-editors-note\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-intercept-editors-note__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span class=\"has-underline\">The U.S. military<\/span> just can\u2019t help meddling in the Philippines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the turn of the 20th century, an American war of conquest killed \u201cover 20,000 Filipino combatants\u201d in addition to \u201cas many as 200,000 Filipino civilians [who] died from violence, famine, and disease,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/history.state.gov\/milestones\/1899-1913\/war\">according<\/a> to no less than the U.S. State Department. But \u201cviolence\u201d doesn\u2019t do justice to exactly what occurred.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To take one example, historian Justin Jackson recently shed light on a forgotten atrocity in the central Luzon region of the Philippines in 1900 in which U.S. troops torched 60 buildings and <a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/jah\/article\/113\/1\/15\/8706876\">executed 27 detainees<\/a>. A year later, Brig. Gen. Jacob W. Smith issued orders: \u201cI want no prisoners. I wish you to kill and burn, the more you kill and burn the better it will please me. I want all persons killed who are capable of bearing arms.\u201d When Maj. Littleton Waller asked for clarification on the age limit for those who would be killed, Smith told him: \u201cTen years.\u201d Estimates of the death toll from that campaign stretch from thousands to tens of thousands. And in 1906, on the the volcanic crater of Bud Dajo, U.S. troops killed, by some estimates, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/15\/books\/review\/massacre-in-the-clouds-kim-a-wagner.html\">nearly 1,000 Muslim Moros<\/a>, including women and children. One American captain recalled wounded babies \u201cgroping amid the mass of the dead for the mother\u2019s breast.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Year after year, these imperialist U.S. troops conducted brutal counterinsurgency operations in which they, according to the State Department, \u201cburned villages, implemented civilian reconcentration policies, and employed torture on suspected guerrillas,\u201d\u00a0as they fought and died in places like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1908\/04\/21\/archives\/disarming-the-moros-troops-assisted-by-constabulary-engaged-in.html\">Basilan<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/1-22infantry.org\/history3\/sulu.htm\">Jolo<\/a>. And a century later, during the forever wars, U.S. Special Operations forces were again sent to the Philippines. For years, they carried out counterterrorism missions, fighting and dying in places like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rand.org\/pubs\/research_reports\/RR1236.html\">Basilan<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2009\/09\/30\/world\/asia\/30manila.html\">Jolo<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Given this long history of military meddling, you probably won\u2019t be shocked to learn that U.S. forces are back in the Philippines \u2014 and expanding their presence. You may, however, be taken aback by their new ally there: private capital. Today, TomDispatch\u2019s stalwart Pentagon watcher Bill Hartung unravels the sordid story of business interests, shady Trump cronies, and Pentagon revolving-door Rangers readying for a war with China that has, thus far, gone on under the radar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u2014 Nick Turse, editor of TomDispatch<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"tipline-shortcode\">If you haven\u2019t yet,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/dispatch\/\">sign up to receive TomDispatch in your inbox here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- END-CONTENT(tipline)[0] --><!-- END-BLOCK(tipline)[0] -->\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<h2 id=\"h-bankrolling-empire\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Bankrolling Empire<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the Cold War, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usni.org\/magazines\/naval-history-magazine\/2016\/august\/looking-back-subic-bay-revisited\">Subic Bay Naval Base<\/a> in the Philippines was a key enabler of U.S. military operations in the Pacific and beyond. It served as a critical support facility for the U.S. war in Vietnam and a transit point for U.S. weapons destined for American military personnel in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. That all changed in June of that year, when the Philippine Congress, under pressure from a grassroots anti-bases movement, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1991\/09\/16\/world\/philippine-senate-votes-to-reject-us-base-renewal.html\">refused to renew<\/a> the lease for Subic Bay and other U.S. outposts in that nation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the closing of U.S. bases, military relations between the U.S. and the Philippines were conducted indirectly through arms transfers, joint training exercises, and deployments of Special Operations forces to aid Philippine counterinsurgency efforts, rather than by the permanent presence of tens of thousands of troops. The relationship was codified in 1999, when Washington and Manila entered into a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/12931-Philippines-Defense-Status-of-Forces-10.9.1998.pdf\">Visiting Forces Agreement<\/a>, which eased the movement of U.S. troops and equipment in and out of the Philippines and put U.S. personnel in the country under the jurisdiction of U.S. rather than Philippine authorities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But now Subic Bay is back in play as part of a new expansion of the U.S. military presence in the Philippines. And this time around, private capital is financing these empire games.<\/p>\n<p><!-- END-BLOCK(cta)[0] --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-military-might-versus-human-rights\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Military Might Versus Human Rights<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The long-standing U.S. military ties with the Philippines have come at a high price for the residents of that nation. Washington\u2019s military and economic interests there have prompted it to look the other way as repressive leaders like Ferdinand Marcos and <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2025\/03\/19\/rodrigo-duterte-icc-arrest-accountability\/\">Rodrigo Duterte<\/a> engaged in systematic human rights abuses against their own people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To its credit, the Reagan administration eventually cut ties with Marcos \u2014 who was overthrown through peaceful protests known as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1986\/05\/26\/world\/throng-in-manila-marks-day-people-power-triumphed.html\">\u201cPeople Power\u201d revolt<\/a> in 1986 \u2014 throwing its support behind his democratically elected opponent, Corazon Aquino. But there was no such shift with respect to Duterte, whose regime ruled the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, and engaged in extrajudicial killings of thousands of Filipinos, including journalists and land reform activists, all under the guise of a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/projects\/the-philippines-war-on-drugs\/\">war on drugs<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0Duterte is now under indictment by the International Criminal Court, which has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.icc-cpi.int\/philippines\/duterte\">cited<\/a> him for \u201cthe crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Marcos and his family fled the Philippines in the 1980s, his son \u2014 Ferdinand Marcos Jr. \u2014 returned and, in 2022, won the presidency in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2022\/05\/09\/world\/philippines-election\/ferdinand-marcos-jr-president?smid=url-share\">landslide<\/a>, in part by promising to continue some of the strongman policies introduced by Duterte. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/asia\/philippines\">Human Rights Watch<\/a>, since the younger Marcos took office:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Serious human rights violations have continued in the country largely unabated, including arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances by security forces. The murderous \u2018war on drugs\u2019 has continued, though with fewer killings. Leftist civil society activists, journalists, environmentalists, Indigenous leaders, trade unionists, and left-wing politicians remain under serious, at times deadly, threat.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the Biden presidency, the U.S. expanded a 2014 pact \u2014 the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/u-s-security-cooperation-with-the-philippines\">Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement<\/a> \u2014 which gave the U.S. military access to five major sites in the Philippines. In 2023, the number of bases was expanded to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacom.mil\/Media\/News\/Article\/3350502\/philippines-us-announce-locations-of-four-new-edca-sites\/\">nine<\/a>. The State Department has described the scope of the EDCA as authorizing \u201cU.S. forces access to agreed locations in the Philippines on a rotational basis, for security cooperation exercises, joint and combined military training activities, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief activities.\u201d That official summary fails to admit the real reason for the signing of the EDCA: to give the U.S. access to territory that can be used in a future war with China.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"promote-banner\">\n    <a class=\"promote-banner__link\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/tomdispatch\"><br \/><span class=\"promote-banner__image\"><br \/><img width=\"300\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/TomDispatch_logo-promo-banner.jpg?fit=300%2C150\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/TomDispatch_logo-promo-banner.jpg?w=500 500w, https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/TomDispatch_logo-promo-banner.jpg?w=300 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"\/>        <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"promote-banner__text\">\n<p class=\"promote-banner__eyebrow\">\n            Read Our Complete Coverage          <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><br \/><\/aside>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-privatization-of-subic-bay\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Privatization of Subic Bay<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Building on his predecessor\u2019s enhanced cooperation with the Philippines, President Donald Trump, who had been a <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2017\/05\/23\/trump-called-rodrigo-duterte-to-congratulate-him-on-his-murderous-drug-war-you-are-doing-an-amazing-job\/\">staunch Duterte supporter<\/a>, has pursued even tighter ties with Marcos\u2019s government. This has been driven, in significant part, by the desire to use the Philippines as a platform for potential U.S. military interventions in the Pacific region and further economic penetration of Asia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As part of the accelerating security partnership between the U.S. and the Philippines, military activities at Subic Bay have resumed. But this time, formal access has been secured by a private investment firm, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-07-18\/cerberus-sets-subic-expansion-amid-revival-of-us-interest-in-former-naval-base\">Cerberus Capital Management<\/a>, which controls the area through a 50-year lease granted through collaboration with a Philippine company, Agila.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A report by the New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, a member of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, summarized current activities at Subic Bay:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In mid-2025, the U.S. Congress approved a plan to build a forward operating base and ammunition production facility in Subic Bay. It is projected to be the world\u2019s largest weapons hub. \u2026 The shipyard [is home to] HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, deep sea fiber optic data cables manufacturer Sub Com, defense contractor V2X and the Philippine Navy, which operates a portion of the facility.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cerberus has strong ties to the Trump administration, first and foremost through its founder, <a href=\"https:\/\/therevolvingdoorproject.org\/billionaires-and-the-trump-admin-stephen-feinberg\/\">Stephen Feinberg<\/a>, who is deputy secretary of the Department of War, second in command at the Pentagon behind Pete Hegseth. In that role, Feinberg oversees the Pentagon\u2019s Office of Strategic Capital, which makes loans to military tech companies, many of which are current or former Cerberus clients.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Feinberg \u201cearned\u201d his position the old-fashioned way \u2014 by giving millions to Rebuilding America Now, a super PAC devoted to supporting Trump, and hosting a $50,000-a-plate fundraiser, the proceeds of which also went to support candidate Trump in 2016.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/graphics\/2026-pentagon-private-equity-cerberus\/\">Bloomberg News<\/a> has identified four other former Cerberus executives now in key positions at the Pentagon: David Lorch, director of the OSC; George Kollitides, a special government employee who is simultaneously a director of D. Boral Acquisition, a company that brokers mergers and acquisitions in the weapons sector; and senior Pentagon advisers John Gallagher and Tom Rakusan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the other side of the revolving door, Cerberus has hired major Republican figures like former Treasury Secretary John Snow and former Vice President Dan Quayle, who serves as chair of the company\u2019s global investment unit. Given these connections, the Pentagon is all-in behind Cerberus\u2019s activities in the Philippines. But this has prompted a backlash. Activists in the Philippines and beyond are speaking out against the role of Cerberus, calling for <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2016\/10\/25\/pension-trump-pence\/\">public pension funds<\/a> to withdraw their investments in the company for underwriting the militarization of the Philippines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another important avenue of increased cooperation between the U.S. and the Marcos government is the Philippines\u2019 participation in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/pax-silica\">Pax Silica<\/a>, a U.S.-initiated cartel that the State Department describes as its \u201cflagship effort on AI and supply chain security, advancing new economic security consensus among allies and trusted partners.\u201d And by \u201csupply chain security,\u201d the declaration primarily means \u201creducing dependence on China\u201d for <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/08\/23\/trump-china-ai-chips-rare-earth\/\">critical minerals<\/a> needed to feed and sustain the computing power now central to the Pentagon and the U.S. arms industry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to the Philippines, there are 24 other participants in Pax Silica, including two other key Asian partners, India and Japan, as well as Taiwan, which is an associate member of the cartel. Jacob Helberg, a <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2024\/03\/21\/china-tiktok-jacob-helberg-palantir\/\">former adviser to military tech giant Palantir<\/a> who now serves as the State Department\u2019s point person on Pax Silica, has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/pax-silica\">stressed<\/a> that the initiative goes well beyond just securing the supply of specific critical resources. \u201cIf the 20th century ran on oil and steel, the 21st century runs on [computing power] and the minerals that feed it,\u201d he said. \u201cThis declaration [announcing Pax Silica] hails a new economic security consensus ensuring aligned partners build the AI ecosystem of tomorrow \u2014 from energy and critical minerals to high-end manufacturing models.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-embed flex-col items-center print:hidden\" id=\"third-party--article-mid\" data-module=\"InlineNewsletter\" data-module-source=\"web_intercept_20241230_Inline_Signup_Replacement\">\n<div class=\"-mx-5 sm:-mx-10 p-5 sm:px-10 xl:-ml-5 lg:mr-0 xl:px-5 bg-accentLight hidden\" data-name=\"subscribed\">\n<h2 class=\"font-sans font-light uppercase text-[30px] leading-8 text-white tracking-[0.01em] mb-0\">\n      We\u2019re independent of corporate interests \u2014 and powered by members. Join us.    <\/h2>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/join.theintercept.com\/donate\/now\/?referrer_post_id=526045&amp;referrer_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheintercept.com%2F2026%2F10%2F26%2Fphilippines-military-base-cerberus-private-capital%2F&amp;source=web_intercept_20241230_Inline_Signup_Replacement\" class=\"border border-white !text-white font-mono uppercase p-5 inline-flex items-center gap-3 hover:bg-white hover:!text-accentLight focus:bg-white focus:!text-accentLight\" data-name=\"donateCTA\" data-action=\"handleDonate\"><br \/>\n      Become a member      <span class=\"font-icons icon-TI_Arrow_02_Right\"\/><br \/>\n    <\/a>\n  <\/div>\n<div class=\"group default w-full px-5 hidden\" data-name=\"unsubscribed\">\n<div class=\"px-5 border-[10px] border-accentLight\">\n<div class=\"bg-white -my-2.5 relative block px-4 md:px-5\">\n<h2 class=\"font-sans font-body text-[30px] font-bold tracking-[0.01em] leading-8 mb-0 xl:text-[37px] xl:leading-[39px]\">\n          <span class=\"group-[.subscribed]:hidden\"><br \/>\n            Join Our Newsletter          <\/span><br \/>\n          <span class=\"group-[.default]:hidden\"><br \/>\n            Thank You For Joining!          <\/span><br \/>\n        <\/h2>\n<p class=\"text-[27px] mb-3.5 font-bold text-accentLight tracking-[0.01em] leading-[29px] font-sans xl:text-[37px] xl:leading-[39px]\">\n          <span class=\"group-[.subscribed]:hidden\"><br \/>\n            Original reporting. Fearless journalism. Delivered to you.          <\/span><br \/>\n          <span class=\"group-[.default]:hidden\"><br \/>\n            Will you take the next step to support our independent journalism by becoming a member of The Intercept?          <\/span>\n        <\/p>\n<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/join.theintercept.com\/donate\/now\/?referrer_post_id=526045&amp;referrer_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheintercept.com%2F2026%2F10%2F26%2Fphilippines-military-base-cerberus-private-capital%2F&amp;source=web_intercept_20241230_Inline_Signup_Replacement\" class=\"group-[.default]:hidden border border-accentLight text-accentLight font-sans px-5 py-3.5 inline-flex items-center gap-3 text-[20px] font-bold\" data-action=\"handleDonate\"><br \/>\n          Become a member          <span class=\"font-icons icon-TI_Arrow_02_Right\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"font-sans text-accentLight text-[10px] leading-[13px] text-balance [&amp;_a]:text-accentLight [&amp;_a]:font-bold [&amp;_a:hover]:underline group-[.subscribed]:hidden\">\n<p>By signing up, I agree to receive emails from The Intercept and to the <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/privacy-policy\/\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/terms-use\/\">Terms of Use<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END-BLOCK(newsletter)[0] --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-china-syndrome\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The China Syndrome<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although it supplies many other benefits to U.S. corporations and America\u2019s national security state, the enhanced effort to bring the Philippines more securely into the U.S. military, political and economic orbit is all rationalized as moves toward reining in China\u2019s economic and military power and garnering Manila\u2019s support in a possible war between China and the U.S.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The policy of economic warfare and aggressively preparing for a military conflict with China could not be more misguided. The oft-cited \u201cneed\u201d to posture U.S. forces to do battle with China over Taiwan ignores the fact that there are <a href=\"https:\/\/quincyinst.org\/research\/beyond-strategic-ambiguity-supporting-taiwan-without-a-commitment-to-war\/\">diplomatic means<\/a> of preventing such a conflict. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What is needed is a joint understanding on the status of Taiwan. For over 40 years, peace in the Taiwan Strait has been maintained through the U.S.\u2013China agreement that Washington will not take steps toward recognizing Taiwan as an independent state and China would agree not to resolve the issue of Taiwan by force \u2014 the so-called \u201cOne China\u201d policy. That agreement has been weakened by actions taken during both the Biden and Trump administrations. The simplest and best way for Washington and Beijing to avoid a war over Taiwan would be to revert to the \u201cOne China\u201d policy.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\">\n<blockquote>\n<p> Using trade wars and military buildups as the primary U.S. tool for influencing China simply will not work.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">China does not pose a direct military threat to the United States. Its last major war was its invasion of Vietnam in 1979, a conflict in which its troops were badly beaten by battle-hardened Vietnamese forces. The U.S. also spends <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sipri.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2026-04\/2604_milex_2025.pdf\">almost three times<\/a> as much on its military as China does, and is <a href=\"https:\/\/costsofwar.watson.brown.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/papers\/Hartung-Chinese-Military-Spending-in-Context.pdf\">far ahead<\/a> of Beijing in numbers of advanced combat aircraft, naval firepower, and nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-ft-photo is-style-default alignright\">\n<div class=\"photo__container\">\n    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-23-at-12.15.06-PM.png?fit=592%2C924\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-23-at-12.15.06-PM.png?w=592 592w, https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-23-at-12.15.06-PM.png?w=192 192w, https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-23-at-12.15.06-PM.png?w=540 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1300px) 650px, (min-width: 800px) 64vw, (min-width: 500px) calc(100vw - 5rem), calc(100vw - 3rem)\" alt=\"\" width=\"592\" height=\"924\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><figcaption class=\"photo__figcaption\">\n      <span class=\"photo__caption\">\u201cThe Trillion Dollar War Machine,\u201d by William D. Hartung and Ben Freeman<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"photo__credit\">Available on<a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/the-trillion-dollar-war-machine-how-runaway-military-spending-drives-america-into-foreign-wars-and-bankrupts-us-at-home-ben-freeman\/e7d4a2e1b1867765?ean=9781645030638\"> Bookshop.org<\/a><\/span>    <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In areas where China might be a peer competitor with the U.S. military, like <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/08\/26\/ai-drone-warfare-russia-ukraine-openai-anthropic\/\">AI-driven weapons<\/a>, there need to be some rules of the road on how such systems can be used. Using trade wars and military buildups as the primary U.S. tool for influencing China simply will not work. The likely result of persisting in such an approach will be a dangerous arms race and an increased risk of outright war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A more productive approach to U.S.\u2013China relations would be to seriously explore cooperation on central issues like arms control, addressing the climate crisis, and stabilizing the global economy. There would still be a U.S. military strategy for the Asia\u2013Pacific region, but it should be genuinely defensive in nature, a posture that could save hundreds of billions of dollars in the years to come.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pursuing a more balanced policy toward China would open the way to developing more equal, less exploitative relations with the Philippines and <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2022\/09\/06\/japan-okinawa-taiwan-military-base\/\">other<\/a> nations <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/09\/24\/guam-military-buildup-base-pollution\/\">in the Pacific<\/a>, and it would allow Washington to finally take a genuine interest in promoting human rights and opposing repression as central pillars of U.S. international relations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At a time when armed conflict and threats of war are the bedrock of U.S. policy, from the Western Hemisphere to the Middle East, a shift toward diplomacy <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2024\/09\/11\/ukraine-russia-war-end\/\">seems daunting<\/a>.\u00a0But it is the only way forward if we want to move toward a more peaceful world where no one nation or group of nations dominates, and where corporations aren\u2019t bending foreign and domestic policies to their will.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>#Bankrolling #American #Empire #Philippines<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. military just can\u2019t h&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[246],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33460"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}