An APEC ‘thrilla in Manila’ for Obama in the Philippines?

It’s a fact: Most Americans just don’t know that the Philippines is a former colony of the United States.

Some Americans have heard about the disastrous World War II battle at Corregidor, the death march from Bataan, and know that the Philippines has been our strongest military ally in the Pacific. Many Americans also know that the Japanese invaded the Philippines in World War II, and Gen. Douglas MacArthur had to evacuate the country but eventually returned to claim victory. But today, unless you are a veteran or war historian, most people just don’t know or don’t care.

{mosads}The Philippines became a U.S. colony following the Spanish-American War, and we helped the country chart a course to independence. As President Obama has developed his “Pivot to Asia” strategy, the Philippines should have always been front and center to the plan. A minor flaw did appear in that policy when the Philippines was not included in the original discussion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). While it may not be internally easy for the Philippines to join the agreement, one might have thought the Filipinos would have been given a right of first refusal.

In just a few days, Obama will visit Manila for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and, hopefully, this Philippine subject will see the light of day. After all, China is rapidly building several landing strips on the hotly contested Spratly Islands, in a zone that the Filipinos (and others) says belongs to the Philippines. We recently sent the naval vessel USS Lasses to pass through waters within 12 miles of the Spratly Islands, sparking a strong rebuke from the Chinese government, but what does this say about our intention toward the Philippines as a nation? Apparently, we will protect the Philippines on the military side but, at the same time, would inflict severe pain on their economy by delaying admittance into our TPP trade agreement.

Students of American military history might find it odd that we fought against Japan in World War II, and they are part of the TPP. We fought against Vietnam in the Vietnam War, and they are part of TPP. Yet, the Philippines, who sided with the American armed forces and fought side by side with us against the enemies of the time, are excluded from the TPP trade pact. What kind of message does that send?

There was a recent picture of Obama shaking hands with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, with the title “Widodo says Indonesia will join TPP.” Where is the Philippines in this picture? Actually — and for the record — the U.S. has quite a long history of tough love toward the Philippines. For the last 116 years, since the Treaty of Paris, the U.S. has talked a good game, taken some advantage at times and hasn’t always given enough back.

It was on July 4 of 1946 when we granted the Philippines full independence as a nation. In the same year, Congress passed the Bell Trade Act, which was highly unpopular in the Philippines, and was subsequently replaced by the equally unpopular Laurel-Langley Trade Act of 1955 (which expired in 1974). There have been no new trade deals between these two great nations in the last 41 years. If that’s how we treat our friends, can you imagine what we do to our former adversaries?

Yup, that’s right; we include former adversaries in trade deals and exclude friends. Is this any way to run a nation?

Helfenbein is chairman of the board of the American Apparel and Footwear Association. He is a strong advocate for a robust U.S. trade agenda and lectures frequently on the subjects of supply chain and international trade. Follow him on Twitter @rhelfen.