III 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 252 

Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the United States–Philippines Mutual 

Defense Treaty. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 2, 2011 

Mr. LUGAR (for himself, Mr. KERRY, and Mr. INHOFE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the United States– 

Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty. 

Whereas Filipinos and Americans fought together in World 

War II, and an estimated 1,000,000 Filipinos gave their 

lives to defend freedom; 

Whereas the United States and the Republic of the Philippines signed the United States–Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty in 1951; 

Whereas the Philippines and the United States are longstanding allies, as demonstrated by the Mutual Defense 

Treaty, cooperation in conflicts since World War II, and 

the United States designation of the Philippines as a 

Major Non-NATO Ally; 


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•SRES 252 IS 

Whereas the United States Government seeks to maintain an 

alliance with the Government of the Philippines that promotes peace and stability in Southeast and East Asia, 

rule of law and human rights, economic growth, counterterrorism efforts, and maritime security; 

Whereas United States naval ships visit Philippines’ ports, 

and the United States and Philippines’ military forces 

participate in combined military exercises under the Visiting Forces Agreement established in 1998; 

Whereas the United States Government and the Government 

of the Philippines work closely together in the struggle 

against terrorism to make local communities safer and 

help establish an environment conducive to good governance and development; 

Whereas the navy of the Government of the Philippines has 

received a United States Coast Guard cutter and assistance in establishing a coastal radar system to enhance its 

monitoring of its waters; 

Whereas the United States Government works closely with 

the Government of the Philippines on humanitarian and 

disaster relief activities, and in the past has provided 

prompt assistance to make United States troops, equipment, assets, and disaster relief assistance available; 

Whereas the Mutual Defense Board and the Security Engagement Board serve as important platforms for the 

continuing stability of the long-standing alliance between 

the Philippines and the United States in a rapidly changing global and regional environment; 

Whereas Philippines military forces have supported over the 

years many United Nations peacekeeping operations 

worldwide; 


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•SRES 252 IS 

Whereas the United States ranks as one of the Philippines’ 

top trading partners, with 11 percent of the Philippines’ 

imports coming from the United States and 15 percent 

of exports from the Philippines delivered to the United 

States in 2010; 

Whereas total United States foreign direct investment in the 

Philippines was almost $6,000,000,000 at the end of 

2009; 

Whereas the Philippines is one of four countries that has 

been invited to participate in the new Partnership for 

Growth Initiative, which promotes broad-based economic 

growth in emerging markets; 

Whereas many Americans and Filipinos have participated in 

people-to-people programs such as the Peace Corps, the 

International Visitor Leadership Programs, the Aquino 

Fellowship, Eisenhower Fellowships, and the Fulbright 

Scholar Program; 

Whereas an estimated 4,000,000 people living in the United 

States are of Filipino ancestry, over 300,000 United 

States citizens live in the Philippines, and an estimated 

600,000 United States citizens travel to the Philippines 

each year; 

Whereas the alliance between the United States and the Philippines is founded on core values that aim to promote 

and preserve democracy, freedom, peace, and justice, and 

is fortified by the two nations’ partnerships in defending 

these values; 

Whereas the Government of the Philippines seeks to improve 

governance, strengthen the rule of law, and further develop accountable, democratic institutions that can better 


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•SRES 252 IS 

safeguard human rights, secure justice, and promote equitable economic development; and 

Whereas Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Foreign 

Secretary of the Philippines, Albert del Rosario, on June 

23, 2011, in Washington, DC, and reaffirmed that the 

United States and the Philippines are longstanding allies 

that are committed to honoring mutual obligations, and 

strengthening the alliance: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) the Senate— 

3 (A) celebrates the 60th Anniversary of the 

4 United States–Philippines Mutual Defense 

5 Treaty; 

6 (B) confirms the alliance’s enduring value 

7 as one of the key pillars of peace, stability, and 

8 prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region; and 

9 (C) encourages both countries to mark this 

10 important occasion with continued high-level ex11 changes; and 

12 (2) it is the sense of the Senate that— 

13 (A) the United States Government should 

14 propose to the Government of the Philippines 

15 that a joint commission be established to review 

16 the potential for enhancing security ties be17 tween the United States Armed Forces and the 

18 Armed Forces of the Philippines, including fa19 cilities access, expanded joint training opportuVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:35 Aug 03, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR252.IS SR252

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•SRES 252 IS 

1 nities, and humanitarian and disaster relief pre2 paredness activities; 

3 (B) the United States Government should 

4 redouble efforts to expand and deepen the eco5 nomic relationship with the Government of the 

6 Philippines toward achieving broad-based eco7 nomic development in that country, including by 

8 working on new bilateral initiatives that support 

9 the efforts of the Government of the Philippines 

10 to reform its economy and enhance its competi11 tiveness, and through trade-capacity building; 

12 (C) the private sectors of the United 

13 States and the Philippines should be urged to 

14 establish a United States–Philippines organiza15 tion with a mission to promote actively and ex16 pand closer bilateral ties across key sectors, in17 cluding security, trade and investment, edu18 cation, and people-to-people programs; 

19 (D) the Government of the Philippines 

20 should continue its efforts to strengthen its 

21 democratic institutions to fight corruption, cur22 tail politically motivated violence and extrajudi23 cial killings, expand economic opportunity, and 

24 tackle internal security challenges; and 


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•SRES 252 IS 

1 (E) the United States Government should 

2 continue efforts to assist the Government of the 

3 Philippines in the areas of maritime security, 

4 related communications infrastructure to enable 

5 enhanced information-sharing, and overall mili6 tary professionalization. 

Æ 


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