UNITED STATES: The White House will host a meeting between President Joe Biden and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday.
The visit was made only three months after Washington acquired access to four significant military installations in the Philippines, an initiative that was viewed as an important step in its effort to counter China in the region.
The partnership, which will boost the present five facilities there that the United States uses for training and equipment pre-positioning, is also assisting in the recovery of a Philippine political dynasty that was, until recently, shunned by the international community.
Filipino Americans staged protests in Manhattan and Washington during the visit of Marcos Jr. to the UN in September.
Ruben Carranza, a former commissioner of the Presidential Commission on Good Government in the Philippines, said, “To hold the door open for American soldiers, the US needs Marcos Jr. On the other hand, Marcos depends on the United States to remain in power, to uphold the diplomatic protection that permits him to enter the United States again, and to quell the ambitions of any military faction being courted by other political dynasties.”
Ferdinand E. Marcos ruled for about 20 years, and his son will be welcomed by Washington. Marcos Jr. had encountered an order of contempt in the court in light of a class-action lawsuit that was connected to the unreciprocated damages for human rights and the oppression under his father’s reign.
Chairman of the political science department at the University of the Philippines in Diliman states, “The United States has done this before. It didn’t give a damn about the Philippines’ human rights record as long as Marcos could protect the military outposts.”
But for the family, who have gone from political outcasts to guests of honour in the American capital, the meeting between Biden and Marcos Jr. on Monday reflects an important turning point.
The United States backed Ferdinand Marcos Sr. over the years while permitting inquiries to his administration to move forward. It also illustrates how geopolitical worries regarding accountability frequently dominate.
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