[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 481 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 481
Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the United States-Philippines
Mutual Defense Treaty and the vitality of the overall bilateral
relationship.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 5, 2012
Mr. Lugar (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Webb, Ms. Ayotte,
Mr. Cochran, and Mr. Inouye) submitted the following resolution; which
was considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the United States-Philippines
Mutual Defense Treaty and the vitality of the overall bilateral
relationship.
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;
Whereas the Clark Veterans Cemetery in the Philippines is the final resting
place for the remains of thousands of United States and Filipino
veterans from the United States Army, United States Marines Corps,
United States Navy, United States Air Force, United States Coast Guard,
Philippine Scouts, and their dependents from seven wars since 1900;
Whereas the United States Government administered and cared for the Clark
Veterans Cemetery from 1900 to 1991;
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,
counter-terrorism 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 people and Governments of the United States and the Philippines
share a common interest in maintaining freedom of navigation, unimpeded
lawful commerce, and transit of people across the seas and subscribe to
a rules-based approach in resolving competing claims in maritime areas
through peaceful, collaborative, multilateral, and diplomatic processes
within the framework of international law;
Whereas the Philippines has served ably for the past three years as the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) country coordinator for
the United States;
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, with a second cutter due
to be transferred soon;
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 the Bilateral Security Dialogue is an important policy venue for setting
the policy direction and providing guidance for all aspects of the
alliance relationship;
Whereas Philippines military forces have supported over the years many United
Nations peacekeeping operations worldwide;
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
approximately $7,000,000,000 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 U.S.-Philippines Society was recently established to broaden and
expand interaction between and understanding of the United States and
the Philippines in the areas of security, trade, investments, tourism,
the environment, history, education, and culture;
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 safeguard human rights, secure justice, and
promote equitable economic development;
Whereas His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III, President of the Republic of the
Philippines, is scheduled to visit the United States in June 2012; and
Whereas Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta
met with their Philippine counterparts in Washington, D.C. on April 30,
2012, and reaffirmed that the United States and the Philippines are
longstanding allies, that the United States Government is fully
committed to honoring mutual obligations with the Philippines, and that
the alliance continues to serve as a pillar of the Philippines-United
States relationship and a source of stability in the region: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
(1) the Senate--
(A) celebrates the 60th Anniversary of the United
States-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty and the
vitality of the overall bilateral relationship;
(B) confirms the alliance's centrality and enduring
value as one of the key pillars of peace, stability,
and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and as a key
tool in addressing the emerging security environment in
the region; and
(C) encourages both countries to continue high-
level consultations; and
(2) it is the sense of the Senate that--
(A) the United States Government should use the
U.S.-Philippines Bilateral Security Dialogue and the
Mutual Defense Board and Security Engagement Board to
promote greater alliance cooperation and enhance
bilateral security ties, including support for
Philippine defense modernization, for the rotational
presence of United States Armed Forces in the
Philippines and for increased humanitarian and disaster
relief preparedness activities;
(B) the United States Government should redouble
efforts to expand and deepen the economic relationship
with the Government of the Philippines toward achieving
broad-based economic development in that country,
including by working on new bilateral initiatives that
support the efforts of the Government of the
Philippines to reform its economy and enhance its
competitiveness, and through trade-capacity building;
(C) the Government of the Philippines should
continue its efforts to strengthen its democratic
institutions to fight corruption, curtail politically
motivated violence and extrajudicial killings, expand
economic opportunity, and tackle internal security
challenges;
(D) after close consultation with the Government of
the Philippines, the United States Government should
designate an appropriate United States entity to be
responsible for making necessary arrangements to ensure
ongoing maintenance of Clark Veterans Cemetery in the
Philippines; and
(E) the United States Government should continue
efforts to assist the Government of the Philippines in
the areas of maritime security, maritime domain
awareness, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,
and related communications infrastructure to enable
enhanced information-sharing and overall military
professionalization.
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