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1 1 (February 14, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govcaan0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF. ' ,iE S .r, i t p\w -- , gnom go mppm qq\ , q I aS 11LIANJILiN, Updated February 14, 2020 The Philippines The United States and the Republic of the Philippines have maintained a deep relationship that has included a bilateral security alliance, extensive military cooperation, close people-to-people ties, and many shared strategic and economic interests. U.S. administration of the Philippines as a colonial territory (1898-1946), which followed 300 years of Spanish rule, also shaped the relationship. Since 2016, when President Rodrigo Duterte was elected, his violent antidrug campaign and harassment of political opponents, human rights activists, and journalists, as well as his distrust of the United States and rapprochement with China, has raised concerns among many U.S. policymakers. Among Filipinos, popular support for the U.S.-Philippines relationship is strong. According to a September 2019 survey conducted by Philippines-based Social Weather Stations, 80% of respondents said they had much trust in the United States as an ally (compared to 21% for China). A 2018 Pew poll found that Filipinos prefer U.S. global leadership (77%) over that of China (12%). Despite his antidrug policies and generally nonconfrontational stance toward China, both of which have raised some controversy in the Philippines, Duterte remains popular domestically. Mid-term elections in May 2019 resulted in large pro- Duterte majorities in both houses of the legislature. R ec*- ent Dev e*1 o p me,,-t s Foreign operations appropriations legislation for FY2020 (P.L. 116-94; S.Rept. 116-126) bars entry of Philippine officials determined to have been involved in the wrongful imprisonment of Philippine Senator Leila de Lima, a leading critic of the antidrug campaign. On January 8, 2020, S.Res. 142, condemning the Philippine government for state-sanctioned extrajudicial killings and calling for the release of Senator De Lima, passed in the Senate. In mid- January 2020, reports emerged that the U.S. visa of Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, who ran the antidrug campaign between 2016 and 2018, had been revoked, although the cancellation may have occurred earlier. On February 10, 2020, the Government of the Philippines submitted a notice of termination of the Philippines-U.S. Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). The VFA establishes rules by which U.S. military personnel, vessels, and aircraft may enter the Philippines and that pertain to criminal jurisdiction of U.S. military personnel. The U.S. Embassy in Manila issued a statement calling the action a serious step with significant implications for the U.S.-Philippine alliance. The ending of the VFA, which is to occur 180 days after the notice of termination, may raise questions about how the United States would fulfill its obligations related to joint military exercises and operations, counter- terrorism cooperation, and the Mutual Defense Treaty. In contrast to his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, who steered the Philippines strategically towards the United States, Duterte has sought to strengthen ties with China, the Philippines' biggest trading partner and a potentially large source of foreign investment. The Philippines also has expanded its sources of military assistance, including from U.S. allies and strategic partners Australia, Japan, South Korea, and India, as well as from China and Russia. The Philippines is the largest recipient of U.S. Foreign Military Financing (FMF) in Asia and a principal recipient of military assistance under the Department of Defense (DOD) Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Initiative. U.S. military personnel and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) collaborate on counterterrorism efforts, regular joint military exercises, and humanitarian activities. Balikatan (Shoulder-to-Shoulder), the premier annual bilateral exercise, took place in March 2019 with 7,500 U.S. and Philippine troops and a small military contingent from Australia. The U.S.-Philippines Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), signed in 2014, allows for the increased rotational presence of U.S. military forces, ships, and aircraft in the Philippines, although its future course is unclear given uncertainties surrounding the VFA. Philippines at a Glance Land Area: Slightly lager than Arizona Population: 105.9 million Ethnic Groups: Mostly Malay (95%); Chinese, mixed race (Filipino-Spanish, Filipino-Chinese, Filipino-American), and other (5%). Religious Affiliation: Roman Catholic (81%); other Christian (9%); Muslim (5%); other (5%). Gross Domestic Product (GDP): $877 billion (purchasing power parity). Global ranking: 29. Per Capita GDP: $8,400 (purchasing power parity). GDP Composition by Sector: Agriculture (9%); Industry (31 %); Services (60%). Source: Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook, 2019. T hV- Wr ocn Dru Duterte's War on Drugs, which began shortly after he took office, has resulted in thousands of extrajudicial killings, triggering international condemnation. The number of drug war-related deaths ranges from government statistics of approximately 5,500 to estimates by human rights groups of up to 27,000. According to human rights groups, virtually all of the killings have been carried out without due process, and the vast majority of victims have been unarmed, poor, low-level offenders. They allege that police have collaborated with vigilantes, planted evidence at the scenes of killings, fabricated reports, and held

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