Cancel RIMPAC! Resist NATO! U.S. Out of the Philippines & Everywhere!
U.S. imperialist war is on the rise — but so are the people. This summer, the Filipino people must take a stand alongside all those fighting for a just peace by resisting U.S. imperialist war and war provocation around the world. The Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), the world’s largest international maritime exercise, will be holding war games on and around Hawaiʻi from June 27 to August 2. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is hosting its 75th Summit in Washington D.C. from July 9 to 11. BAYAN USA calls on all Filipinos and peace-loving people to join us in protesting these instruments of war, united in our call: U.S. Out of the Philippines! U.S. Out of Everywhere!
From its more than two-year proxy war with Russia in Ukraine, to its backing of the Zionist entity of Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people, the U.S. is exerting its military might as it tries to retain its weakening power across the globe. While it has yet to break out in the region, we see the growing threat of full-blown imperialist war in the Asia-Pacific as the US continues to encircle and provoke China economically, politically, and militarily.
The Philippines plays a key role in U.S. imperialism's strategy to counter China. For decades, the U.S. has imposed unequal military agreements, conducted joint military exercises, and maintained a permanent presence of U.S. military troops and facilities in the country. The Philippines remains the largest recipient of U.S. security assistance in the region, with more than $1 billion worth of planes, armored vehicles, small arms, and other military equipment and training sent since 2015. This has left the Philippine armed forces backwards and dependent on the U.S. in every aspect. For the imperialists, the Philippines is treated as an "unsinkable aircraft carrier" in the region, and the Filipino people as cannon fodder for war.
The U.S. has "invested" so much in countries like the Philippines because the Asia Pacific region is the world's largest market for exports. Troubled by the global economic crisis and China's rise to power in the region, the U.S. is desperate to maintain its neocolonies to defend its economic and geopolitical power. U.S. imperialism's dominance is being threatened so much so that it is converging key theaters of war — Europe, West Asia, and East Asia — to face off against both Russia and China. It is in this context that the RIMPAC Exercise and NATO Summit are being held, and the terrain that the people's movement must campaign from.
What is RIMPAC and why are Filipinos mobilizing against it?
From June 27 through August 2, RIMPAC will be bringing together 42 warships, 4 submarines, accompanying aircraft, and more than 25,000 personnel from 29 militaries: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, "Israel", Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the U.K., and the U.S.
RIMPAC is an excuse for the U.S. and its allies to rehearse war, death, and destruction. It will only fuel tensions between major military powers around the world, particularly between the U.S. and those it perceives to threaten its hegemony, including China, Russia, Iran, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Every year, RIMPAC wreaks havoc on the people and environment of Hawai'i (where a bulk of the exercises are held) and San Diego (where U.S. warships embark from). Live missile fire and ground assaults cause immediate destruction, while chemical pollution released by military vessels poison the air, land, and water for generations to come. Violence against women and families — already a systemic issue caused by militarization — surge during the war games themselves. As a whole, working class families and Native Hawai'ian peoples are the most impacted by these. Filipinos — who make up 15 percent of the San Diego population and 25 percent of the population in Hawai'i — are also part of the working class masses affected.
In June, the Philippines announced that it would no longer send its warships to the RIMPAC exercises and will only be sending a dock landing ship with observers. The government explained it needed all its frigates for conducting sovereignty patrols in the West Philippine Sea. This signals to us that the Philippines is no longer rehearsing for war, but actively preparing for wars of aggression against China, which the U.S. has long been creating the conditions for.
What is NATO and why are Filipinos mobilizing against it?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance of nation-states with the self-proclaimed purpose "to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means." NATO currently has 32 member countries, deemed "NATO Allies.” While NATO claims to exist for ensuring the security of Europe, the true goal of this alliance is to militarily unite European countries to serve the interests of US imperialism. NATO most definitely does not ensure the security of Europe, much less the world. This is made crystal clear by NATO’s continued support for so-called "Israel" as the main outpost of U.S. imperialism in West Asia, and its shameless backing of the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people.
NATO acts as an armed wing of US-led war and mobilizes its member nations to instigate and militarily support inter-imperialist conflicts. As a tool of U.S. and European imperialism to advance its agenda around the world, NATO is consolidating military alliances in the Asia Pacific to contain and isolate the U.S.’ rival, China. NATO has clearly stated its intent to expand outreach efforts into Asia as written in its NATO 2030 report, which broadens the originally Euro-American alliance to have a global scope to shape the international order. NATO is approaching this by building military partnerships with Indo-Pacific countries (Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea) focused on intelligence activities, military exercises, and investments in weapons and bases.
Though the Philippines is not a member of NATO, the U.S. has designated the Philippines as a Major Non-NATO Ally. This is because the U.S. has long used the Philippines as a launching pad for war in the Asia Pacific. It occupies a similar client state status as “Israel” and Ukraine, which receive billions of dollars in U.S. military aid to uphold U.S. interests, all while the masses within the United States struggle to meet their basic needs.
In April, NATO's former Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis wrote an opinion piece in Bloomberg stating that NATO should recruit Asia-Pacific countries that share "its vision of freedom," such as the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, and Thailand. Even if these nations are not yet members, they have already been developing close ties with NATO. Since 2022, Japan and South Korea have attended the military alliance’s annual summits. Last year, NATO reportedly considered setting up a liaison office in Japan.
In the Philippines, four new de facto bases were opened up last year for the exclusive use of the U.S. military under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Act (EDCA). There are likely many more secret bases being funded through the EDCA and other unequal U.S. military agreements with the Philippines. Many of the new bases face China, forming what is called the "first island chain," linking together military outposts between Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Borneo. As NATO and the U.S.' Indo-Pacific Command converge closer and closer, we can only expect these bases to be used for U.S. war in the region and even globally.
Filipinos, continue the historic fight against US-led war!
The RIMPAC Exercise and NATO Summit are signals that existing inter-imperialist tensions and wars will only spread and intensify — unless the masses unite and fight and stop them. The Filipino people are a necessary part of this worldwide fight, particularly as the U.S. intensifies its rivalry with China. Our struggle against U.S. imperialism, dating back to the U.S.' first imperialist war abroad in 1899 on our own shores, must continue to the present day. Our people, our land, our waters, and our sovereignty are on the line.
This summer and beyond, we call on the Filipino people to join us in our campaign to say: Cancel RIMPAC! Resist NATO! US out of the Philippines, US out of Everywhere!