THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY

INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

Readings in Philippine History (GE 2)

THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

 The Bangsamoro struggle for

independence and self-determination
- Resistance against Spanish and U.S colonialism (16th century
– 20th century)
- The arm uprising (1950s)
- Resurgence of independence and Separatist armed rebellion
with the Moro National Liberation Front or MNLF (late
1960s – 1980s)
THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

 The anti-terrorism war

- Fueled by the scramble for the Bangsamoro provinces’ land
and bountiful economic resources
- Southern Mindanao’s gas, oil and other energy resources are
now being coveted by the U.S, as well as Australia, Malaysia,
China and other countries
- Through the centuries, colonialism and war in Mindanao
have been ignited by greed for its land, resources and
strategic location
- The U.S’ geo-military strategy dictates its underlying objective
of establishing basing facilities using the convenient route of
the war on terrorism
THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

 Resources
- In Southeast Asia, Mindanao is among the most natural
resource rich areas and the most well-endowed island of the
Philippines with rich deposits of gold, nickel, zinc and
manganese
- It is the country’s leading producer of banana, pineapple,
corn, coffee and coconut for export
- Other agricultural products include rubber, palm oil and
cotton
- Aside from energy and mining resources, it is also abundant
in timber and marine and fishing resources with seaweed
and tuna as major exports
THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

- It is also dubbed as “Rice Bowl”

- The island was opened for the commercialization of
agriculture, particularly fruit and sugar plantations, led by
U.S multinational firms such as Del Monte, Dole and United
Brands
- For decades, the island’s timber resources made the
Philippines, together with Indonesia and Malaysia, as a major
source of hardwood exports
- Beginning in the late 1940s, U.S multinational corporations
such as Georgia-Pacific and Findlay Millar led an exploitative
logging boom concentrated in the predominantly Moro
regions and in between 1971 and 1991, 80% of the
country’s remaining virgin forests was lost
THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

- Over the past two decades, Mindanao has been billed as a

major source of energy resources enticing the cash-strapped
government to open the island for foreign exploration and
exploitation
- Mindanao has been experiencing increasing energy demands
but decreasing supplies
- It hosts a huge portion of the country’s oil and natural gas
deposits, much of these found in Moro-populated territories,
most notably the Liguasan Marsh (Philippines’ largest swamp
and marsh area)
THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

- In recent years, state offensives were partly motivated by

government plans to build a dam on a major tributary of the
island’s largest river that will drain the Liguasan Marsh of its
water thus making the area easily drillable for oil and gas
exploration
- In June 2008, Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest oil and gas
company, was set to explore or crude oil deposits in Sulu
Sea, Southern Mindanao which also hosts one of the world
heritage sites, the Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park
- The company’s crude oil exploration would cost $110 million
THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

- In recent years, Exxon Mobil has been involved in oil

explorations in conflict-ridden countries such as Iraq,
Afghanistan, Angola, Sudan, Kazakhstan and Indonesia thus
fueling speculations that U.S oil interests are closely tied to
U.S military objectives
- Possibly most inviting to foreign investors, especially American,
Japanese and Saudi Arabians are reports that Mindanao
holds the largest deposit of deuterium (heavy water) in the
world, which is reportedly found in the Philippine Trench
(Pacific Ocean’s deepest part) off the coast of Surigao
THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

- Deuterium can be converted into industrial fuel as a coolant

for nuclear reactors and as a substitute for petroleum and
liquefied gas
- U.S, Japan and Saudi oil giants were reported interested in
buying millions of barrels of deuterium every day, giving the
Philippines $30.7 billion of sales a year
THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

 U.S Economic Objectives

- The U.S’ increasing economic presence in Southern
Philippines in interlocked with U.S policies that mark the
island as part of its bigger trade map in Southeast Asia
- The U.S links its foreign assistance program with
transforming the region – through the mechanisms of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asia-
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and bilateral
agreements – as an open market to satisfy the objectives of
U. S economic growth
THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

“By engaging adeptly, both bilaterally and through

regional organizations such as the APEC forum and
the ASEAN, we can encourage the region to open its
markets further…Success with these goal(s) will
increase prospects for continued U.S growth and
prosperity…We need to stay involved in the region
and ensure that we use aid both to pursue bilateral
policy objectives and to shape emerging regional
institutions in a manner congruent with U.S interests.”
– Glyn Davies, U.S State Department’s Principal Deputy
Assistance for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, in his Strategic
Framework for U.S Foreign Assistance statement, Sept. 22,
2007
THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

- Davies’ statement revealed that the U.S government’s foreign

assistance in Mindanao, which is facilitated by USAID,
integrates anti-terrorism with making the island an open
market for U.S trade and investments
- In 2001-2005, 60% of USAID’s $220 million grant to the
Arroyo government went to Mindanao
- In the same month, the USAID released a five-year $190
million grant that will be used to expand market-oriented
and private-initiated eight economic opportunities in
Mindanao
- Development projects under the grant are to be under the
joint U.S – Philippine Mindanao Peace and Development
(MPAD) assistance agreement
THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

 U.S Aggressive Military Presence

- Mindanao lies at a strategic point not only in relation to
Southeast Asia but also near strategic trade routes: Malacca,
Sunda, Lombok and Makassar Straits
- Commerce including energy shipments that are traded
through this routes is worth some $1.5 trillion
- Even before the Bush administration stepped up U.S military
presence in Southern Philippines with the objective of fighting
terrorism, American security forces had been deeply involved
in the conflict in Mindanao
THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

- Its involvement is in the form of military aid to the Philippine

government that included training and equipping the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in its fight against the
communist-led New People’s Army (NPA) and against the
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and later, Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
- The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S lead to the U.S
government linking Al Qaeda, the prime terrorist suspect in
the 9/11 bombings, to terrorist cells in Mindanao, especially
Abu Sayyaf, and the rest of Southeast Asia
- Terrorist suspects, arrested in the region, U.S authorities said,
admitted to being trained in MILF camps
THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

- The MILF, which has consistently denied the charges, was

named in the U.S government’s “foreign terrorist
organizations” list but was lifted afterward on the condition
that the Moro rebels renounced their “terrorist activities” and
join the peace talks with the Philippine government
- The Bush government sent thousands of troops to the
country in the guise of “war exercises” including Special
Operation Forces (SOFs) who were to train AFP troops in
special operations and psychological warfare
- Big contingents of U.S forces were sent to Basilan, Sulu and
other Moro provinces where they were often reported in
joint operations with AFP forces in their hunt against Abu
Sayyaf forces
THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

- The Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA, 1999) and other

executive agreements subsequently signed between the two
governments, including the Mutual Logistics Support
Agreement (2002) and the Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA)
agreement, laid the ground for a “permanent temporary
basing facility” for the U.S forces in the Southern Philippines
- Over the last six years, a special unit of the U.S, the Joint
Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P), has been
based at Camp Navarro in Zamboanga City and maintains
about 500 U.S forces and their area of operations spans
8,000 miles, covering the whole of Mindanao and its
surrounding islands and seas
THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

- The U.S forces, under the Special Operations Command

(SOCOM), help supply real-time intelligence to Philippine
troops
- They use unmanned spy drones and powerful radio scanners
presumably to spot and pin down ASG extremists
- A deep-water port and a modern domestic airport have also
been built in Gen. Santos City, while in Basilan and Sulu, the
USAID has funded the construction of roads and ports that
can berth huge ships
THE ECONOMIC AND SECURITY INTRICACIES OF THE
BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE

- The logical structures, facilities and frequent and rotational

deployment of U.S forces in Mindanao, and elsewhere in the
Philippines, constitute “Cooperative Security Locations” (CSLs)
– the U.S military’s cover for a long-term military presence in
host countries where permanent military bases cannot be
established due to domestic opposition