page_title: Foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration
section_title: Philippines
hierarchical_section_title: Foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration / Asia / Philippines
caption_attribution_description: English: Philippine President Corazon Aquino addresses base workers at a rally at Remy Field concerning jobs for Filipino workers after the Americans withdraw from the U.S. facilities. (Released to Public)
context_page_description: The foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration was the foreign policy of the United States from 1981 to 1989. The main goal was winning the Cold War and the rollback of Communism—which was achieved in Eastern Europe in 1989 and in the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. Historians debate whom to credit, and how much. They agree that victory in the Cold War made the U.S. the world's only superpower, one with good relations with former Communist regimes in Russia and Eastern Europe.
  As part of the "Reagan Doctrine", the United States also offered financial and logistics support to the anti-communist opposition in central Europe and took an increasingly hard line against left-wing governments in Afghanistan, Angola, and Nicaragua.
context_section_description: The primary U.S. interest in the Philippines was its military bases (e.g. Clark Air Base, Subic Bay Naval Base, etc.) whose land was leased from the Philippine government. The bases' geostrategic importance came from being situated close to the international sea lanes connecting the Persian Gulf, Southeast Asia, and Northeast Asia.
  The Reagan administration repeatedly stood by Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos. From the declaration of martial law in 1972 until 1983 the U.S. government backed the Marcos regime with $2.5 billion in bilateral military and economic aid and about $5.5 billion through multilateral institutions such as the World Bank. As early as 1973, U.S. officials were aware that Philippine government agents were in the U.S. to harass Filipino dissidents. In June 1981, two anti-Marcos labor activists were assassinated outside of a union hall in Seattle. That same month, Vice President George H. W. Bush praised Marcos for his "adherence to democratic principles and to the democratic processes" after he won the 1981 election.
  Reagan's support did not waiver, despite the uproar over Marcos' assassination of his chief political rival, Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. on August 21, 1983. After a Marcos-appointed board of inquiry, called the Agrava Board, blamed the murder on a plot among Aquinos' military bodyguards, the Marcos-appointed Sandiganbayan court acquitted the 25 accused military personnel on December 2, 1985. Despite continued charges that the Marcos regime was corrupt and repressive, Reagan continued to stress the close links that existed between the Philippines and the U.S.
  In February 1986, Aquino's widow, Corazon Aquino, ran for president against Marcos. The U.S. and UK sent official delegations to monitor the election. However, when U.S. observers reported widespread election fraud and violence on the part of the Marcos campaign, Reagan turned a blind eye and declared the U.S. neutral. One observer, Sen. Richard Lugar, reported that the Marcos government was trying to juggle the vote count. Lugar, along with Sen. Bob Dole and Sam Nunn, publicly protested the president's indifference. On February 22–25, thousands of citizens took to the streets in a series of demonstrations known as the People Power Revolution. In response, Filipino military and government leaders abandoned Marcos. The Reagan administration swiftly shifted to pressuring Marcos to step down so as to ensure the peaceful transition of power. Corazon Aquino's taking office as president marked the restoration of democracy in the country, and the U.S. recognized the Aquino government on Feb. 25. Still, Reagan's stubborn defense of Marcos strained relations.
  This came into play during negotiations to renew the U.S. leases on its Philippine bases. The U.S. had to make concessions and promise substantial increases in economic and military aid before the Aquino government would renew the lease agreements. In September 1991, however, resentment led to the Philippine Senate voting to terminate the leases.
caption: Corazon Aquino, Filipino president from 1986 to 1992
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