Philippines (Fallout: Pearl of the Orient)

The Commonwealth of the Philippines (Filipino: Komonwelt ng Pilipinas), also known as the Philippines (Filipino: Pilipinas), was a pre-War United States commonwealth.
== Background ==
Integrated into the United States as a U.S commonwealth, the Philippines quickly developed into a regional power, but this was not without challenges, as internal conflict and uncertainty about its future still shook the new state. The Sino-American War embroiled the Commonwealth in a war once more, with the Chinese landing in Luzon and Visayas to major success, but by 2077 were almost pushed out of the archipelago by U.S. forces, with the remaining Chinese holdouts being northern Luzon and urban Manila. Following the Great War, most of the country was reduced to ruins.
=== Spanish East Indies, revolution ===
The country was claimed by Ferdinand Magellan and colonized by Miguel López de Legazpi in the late 1500s, becoming a part of the Spanish East Indies, which encompassed Spanish territories in Asia and the Pacific.
Revolutionary sentiment was stoked by an execution on weak grounds, which inspired a propaganda movement in Spain lobbying for political reforms in the Philippines. The situation would be exacerbated with the execution of Rizal - radicalizing many who were loyal to Spain. The Katipunan would start the First Philippine Revolution in 1896, with the Philippines declaring independence from Spain shortly after.
=== Philippine-American War ===
This independence was short-lived however, as the islands had been ceded by Spain to the United States along with Puerto Rico and Guam as a result of the latter's victory in the Spanish–American War. With the United States not recognizing the new republic, the Philippine-American War broke out, which ultimately resulted in an American victory and the establishment of an American military government.
=== American rule ===
The early years of American rule were turbulent. High civil unrest still remained, and the status of the country was still in limbo until the passing of the law which established the foundation for a more autonomous government. 
While the Philippines did not have major contributions during World War I, it took on a major role in World War II, serving as one of the major fronts in the Pacific theater and the primary target for the Japanese conquest of the Philippines. While this conquest is considered the worst military defeat of the U.S., the archipelago was liberated by American forces in the later stages of the war.
As World War II ended and the Cold War began, Philippine independence was put on hold with the intensification of the Huk insurgency. This was seen as an opportunity to further integrate the Philippines - as the specter of communism would be used to justify the temporary occupation of the archipelago.
The insurgency was drawn out and casualties for both sides began to pile up. The insurgency ended in 1955 following a raid which killed most of the Huk leadership. The U.S. began to rebuild and reorganize the territory - paving the way for the introduction and ratification of the Philippines Admission Act, admitting the archipelago into the Union as the first federal commonwealth.
=== Statehood, regional power ===
The early years of the Commonwealth was turbulent, but as the situation stabilized, the Philippines quickly rebounded from the insurgency, ushering in a period of socioeconomic development and stability. Agriculture was developed, and the archipelago became one of the Union's major breadbaskets. A growing Filipino workforce gave the United States cheap labor, and industrial developments in the archipelago contributed to an industrial boom in the United States.
Not all was well, as the early years of this new state was unstable. A wave of migration attempts to the mainland led to the controversial implementation of migration quotas and laws which disgruntled many. Despite this, by the late 1900s and the 2000s, the Philippines was an important U.S commonwealth. It transformed into a major regional power within the Asia-Pacific region. The archipelago was utilized as a bastion against the spreading influence of China.
=== Instability, Sino-American War ===
Close to China, the Philippines was a target of a series of Chinese intelligence efforts to sow unrest and instability within the region. A series of bombings and sabotages implicating the Americans stoked Filipino separatism, and utilizing the specter of nationalism, the Chinese influenced the formation of a New People's Army. 
The NPA was activated with the start of the Sino-American War in 2066 - launching insurgencies within the rural countryside, supporting Chinese landings in Luzon and Visayas, with the NPA's aid instrumental in the invasion and occupation of the archipelago. The group controlled most of the administrative duties. As the Americans counterattacked, with their bombing runs primarily targeting NPA strongholds, this severely weakened their capability to administrate the archipelago.
The collapse of the NPA was essential to the collapse of the occupation as a whole, with the Chinese not having the capability to administrate it. They began an arduous retreat from the Philippines. By 2077, the Chinese only occupied some of Luzon and small zones in Visayas, with its primary stronghold being Manila.