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The United States and the Philippines have together been pursuing a joint strategy to foster peace, and defeat insurgent and terrorist groups in the southern Philippines. This strategy, first established in the 2002 National Security Strategy Directive (NSSD) is defined by the “3Ds”: diplomacy, development, and defense. The 3Ds strategy states that terrorism can only be ultimately defeated when both the terrorists and their ideological base are eliminated. Therefore, securing peace and fostering development simultaneously helps to cut the terrorists off from their territorial resources and their potential support from the indigenous population. The U.S. Embassy in Manila maintains a strong bilateral relationship with the Philippines based upon a shared history and common goals in today's world. Vibrant economic and political ties between the two countries strengthen governance, spur economic growth, and reduce the threat posed by terrorism in the Philippines. Development assistance from the American people helps improve the lives of average Filipinos – Muslims and Christians alike – in the areas of health, education, economic livelihood, and the environment. Finally, U.S. military assistance is enhancing the professionalism of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and increasing its capacity to respond to a range of modern threats, including domestic and inter-national terrorists. Background The Philippines is an important and longtime ally of the U.S. The Philippines is the oldest democracy in Southeast Asia, but in recent decades it has not enjoyed the same level of economic growth as most of its neighbors. Forty-three percent of the Philippines' population continues to live on $2 a day or less. The U.S. has been providing financial aid to the Philippines since it gained independence in 1946. During World War II, when the Philippines was still a U.S. territory under occupation by the Japanese Army, Filipinos and Americans fought and died alongside each other for nearly four years. This common history further strengthens already strong economic, political, and military ties between the two countries today. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which is the principal U.S. agency for overseas development assistance, has been working in the country since USAID's establishment in 1961. Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippines, is rich in natural resources and agricultural output due to its location outside the typhoon belt that crosses the Philippines to the north. It has a population of about 18.1 million, 20% of whom are Muslim, mainly located in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in southwestern Mindanao. Mindanao is considered the most impoverished region of the Philippines with seven of the country's 10 poorest provinces, low-quality social services, a lack of key infrastructure and weak institutions of governance. Difficult conditions have been exacerbated by more than three decades of fighting between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the separatist Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). This conflict and intermittent local clan warfare has claimed approximately 160,000 lives since the early 1970s. In addition, the small but violent Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), with ties to the regional terror group, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and al Qaeda, has also been active in western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. The many remote islands there can provide a potential haven for terrorists. Nevertheless, the people of Mindanao have demonstrated remarkable resiliency and the region's economy has grown at an average annual rate of 3.3% since 1992 and at even higher levels in recent years, mostly due to a robust agriculture sector. In addition, since a 2003 ceasefire between the MILF and Philippine government, clashes between the two sides have decreased drama-tically from 559 in 2003, to seven in 2007. Continuing challenges to peace include ongoing security threats from transnational terrorism, including Abu Sayyaf and JI, which have been known to take advantage of the southern Philippines' porous maritime borders with neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia. Mindanao also has a splintered political landscape marked by weak governance, particularly in the ARMM. This is exacerbated by “rido” (or clan) conflict among powerful and influential families in the region that sometimes supersede political boundaries and religious identities. Such clan conflict has resulted in sporadic political violence, particularly during election periods. Diplomacy The U.S. and the Philippines have strong bilateral relations that are strengthened by longstanding economic, military and political ties. These ties improve governance, stimulate economic growth and reduce threats posed by terrorism. 1. Security Engagement Board (SEB)In March 2006, the Security Engagement Board (SEB) was jointly established by the U.S and Philippine governments to encourage bilateral consultations on non-traditional security threats, including terrorism, smuggling, piracy and other emerging security threats. The SEB also forms a framework for bilateral and regional cooperation among military forces, civilian authorities, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The primary focus of the SEB is counterterrorism cooperation. The SEB, which includes the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), recommends activities for consideration and approval by the Philippines government in accordance with the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). 2. Public DiplomacyPublic Diplomacy is conducted using a number of U.S. State Department-funded exchange programs that engage Muslim youth and community leaders. The Fulbright, Humphrey, Youth Exchange and Study (YES), and International Visitors and Access programs run by the Department of State bring young Muslims and other leaders from Mindanao and elsewhere to spend time in the U.S. meeting, studying, working, and often living with Americans. The objective of these programs is to expose young leaders to the richness, diversity and vitality of American life and culture, helping generate more positive views of America in general, on a basis of improved mutual understanding. The U.S. Embassy also directly supports “American Corners,” which are collections of books, DVDs and CD-ROM materials on subjects relevant to America and American-Philippine relations that are housed in local libraries, providing one-stop shopping for people seeking information. There are such facilities in Jolo island (Sulu province) and Tawi-Tawi province in the Sulu Archipelago, and in the major urban centers of Zamboanga City, Marawi (Lanao del Sur province), Cotabato City, Cagayan de Oro (Misamis Oriental province) and Davao City on mainland Mindanao. Public Diplomacy programs also feature a strong “outreach” component, in which visiting experts or U.S. government officials, as well as members of the Embassy staff from the Ambassador down to visa-issuing officers, travel to communities in Mindanao for presentations on specific topics. Security considerations make this a complicated, expensive and time-consuming undertaking. However, energetic efforts to ensure that every opportunity is seized and that every event receives broad media coverage, help to successfully spread the message that the American people are engaged in Mindanao and interested in helping the Philippines develop itself. One particularly successful example of such outreach programs are the multiple visits of the dynamic Syrian-born, American citizen, Imam Mohamad Bashar Arafat. Imam Arafat, a chaplain of the Baltimore City Police, visited communities, mosques and madrassahs (religious schools) across Muslim Mindanao in 2005, 2006 and 2007- on one occasion, with the gunfire of ongoing counter-terrorism operations audible in the background – to spread a message of Islam as a religion of peace and compassion, and to exhort Muslims to follow the Prophet Mohammed's teachings to work to achieve social development and peaceful coexistence with people of other faiths. The Imam has become popular in the areas he has visited and is in great demand whenever the Embassy sponsors a visit by him. 3. Law Enforcement CooperationThe U.S. and the Philippines also cooperate together in the areas of law enforcement, particularly in fighting terrorism in Mindanao. This is done through the U.S. military's Pacific Command's Joint Inter-Agency Task Force-West (JIATF-W), which runs programs in maritime training. The JIATF-West works to provide ‘U.S. and foreign law enforcement with fused interagency information and intelligence analysis, and with counter-drug training and infrastructure development support.’ Some examples of coordination include that between the U.S. Department of State’s (DoS) Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the latest investigative methods and other related activities such as countering money laundering and tracking the finances of terrorists. A U.S.-funded Senior Law Enforcement Advisor (SLEA) and his staff provide assistance to the Philippine National Police force's transformational program to devise and implement reforms that will make the police a more transparent, modern, and effective institution. This included cooperation with the police force's Task Force Usig, created to investigate allegations of extrajudicial killings. Under this program, the U.S. provided training to approximately 1,500 police officers during many sessions throughout the country in 2007. The program has also trained a cadre of Philippine instructors to provide training in the future. Finally, the Rewards for Justice program, run by the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of State and their Philippine counterparts, has resulted in information leading to the capture or killing of wanted terrorists through the payment of millions of dollars to Filipino citizens who have provided information. Development As the USG's primary development assistance agency, USAID first supported the development of Mindanao's infrastructure in the early 1990s with, among other projects, the construction of a new airport in General Santos City. Following the 1996 Peace Agreement between the government of the Philippines and the MNLF, USAID responded immediately with livelihood training, infrastructure development, and other economic incentives to help reintegrate former MNLF combatants into the peaceful economy. USAID activities also offer hope to separatists of the MILF and other disaffected Muslims that the long-simmering conflict in Mindanao can be resolved justly and through peaceful means. U.S. development assistance to the Philippines increased in 2002 as the country became a focal point in the war on terrorism. In the aftermath of September 11, contri-buting to the development of Mindanao and denying international terrorists sanctuary in the Philippines became a primary U.S. national security goal. Between 2001 and 2007, USAID provided nearly US$300 million, or approximately 60% of its total assistance to the Philippines, to reinforce the Philippine government's efforts to secure a lasting peace and build a better life for the people of Mindanao. This commitment to Mindanao continues today. USAID is helping communities in conflict-affected areas of Mindanao expand economic opportunities by providing former combatants with the production inputs, training, and marketing assistance needed to become small-scale commercial farmers. The American people also directly support producers' associations and chambers of commerce in Mindanao, and the development of much-needed basic infrastructure, such as ports and bridges. USAID provides technical assistance to local governments to reduce corruption by making administrative processes more transparent. In addition, the U.S. government trains and encourages local governments to use sound environmental practices to manage forests, coastal and fisheries resources, and solid waste, and provide quality health services for TB diagnosis and treatment, and maternal and child health. In addition, USAID is increasing access to quality education, improving the quality of instruction – particularly in math, science, and English – and providing vocational training opportunities and courses to prepare out-of-school youth for re-entry into the formal education system. Finally, USAID coordinates with other foreign donors to maximize the benefits of foreign assistance to the Filipino people. International partners include government development agencies, such as USAID's Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand counterparts: CIDA, AUSAID, and NZAID; UN organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO); and domestic and international NGOs through the Mindanao Multi-Donor Trust Fund, administered by the World Bank. USAID also partners with the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), which is the MILF entity that implements development assistance projects. Defense U.S. defense support to the Philippines includes counter-terrorism, defense reform and assisting in the improvement of law enforcement. A number of these efforts go hand-in-hand with the development activities of USAID. An important organization in this work is the U.S. Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P). JSOTF-P, in coordination with the US country team, works by, with, and through the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to build capacity to strengthen the Philippines’ security forces and set the conditions for good governance by the Philippine government in order to defeat terrorist organizations and to protect US and Philippine citizens from terrorist attack. Created in 2002 by the U.S. Special Operations Command, Pacific (SOCPAC), JSOTF-P is a U.S. military organization established to conduct and oversee humanitarian civic action programs, and support the U.S. Pacific Command's long-term security assistance partnership with the AFP. 1. U.S. civil-military Agency RelationshipsThe Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG), based in the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines, is responsible for administering security assistance missions, in addition to non-security assistance missions that contribute to stability and peace in the Philippines, such as the Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid (OHDACA), that provides funds for projects that benefit non-military organizations in the Philippines. JUSMAG is responsible to both the U.S. Ambassador in the Philippines and the U.S. military chain of command. The Defense Attache Office (DAO), also based in the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines, is responsible for fostering good relations between the U.S. military and the Philippines as a host-nation particularly in political and military affairs. 2. Philippines ModelThe island province of Basilan in the Sulu Archipelago was once a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf. In 2002, the JSOTF-P provided technical advice and equipment to the Philippine military which was pursing the Abu Sayyaf on Basilan. Meanwhile, USAID continued its development assistance activities, which helped contribute to the military goal of reducing the Abu Sayyaf presence on the island. What has come to be known as the “Basilan Model” was, in effect, an integrated U.S. government effort in Basilan to simultaneously address all three components of the 3Ds approach: 1) improve the AFP's ability to provide a secure environment for local communities; 2) counter the terrorists' ideology and fracture their local support networks; and 3) improve the quality of life of local residents by investing in infrastructure, health services, improved governance, and education. JOSTF-P also assisted the AFP in launching a public affairs and information campaign to gain support among the local populace. The contributions of JOSTF-P and ongoing presence of the AFP have helped USAID expand its programs into more remote areas of Basilan. Lessons learned in Basilan have been applied elsewhere in Mindanao, including the island province of Jolo, which today still provides a degree of sanctuary to the Abu Sayaff and a small number of former MNLF combatants who comprise a “breakaway group.” The ongoing campaign in Jolo, which involves close interaction among various civilian and military agencies of the U.S. government, has achieved success in alienating Abu Sayyaf from the local communities, and subsequently, restricted their sanctuary and recruiting grounds, leading to a reduced Abu Sayyaf presence on Jolo. 3. Defense ReformThe Philippine Defense Reform (PDR) program was created following the second joint defense assessment in 2003 to bring about strategic, institutionalized long-term changes in both the Philippine Department of National Defense and AFP. The PDR includes a team of 13 U.S. subject matter experts who focus on advancing the Philippines domestic and foreign security apparatus through either creating new, or improving upon, existing mechanisms. Reforms include improvements in strategic planning, the development of a manpower management program, the managing of budget, resources, maintenance and supply systems; and improving military intelligence, operations and training. These reforms have a positive direct impact on Philippine units operating against terrorists in Mindanao. Areas of collaboration in the capacity building of the AFP include the development of individual skills and Subject Matter Expert Exchanges (SMEE) on security. 4. Joint Development Activities in Conflict-Affected Areas of MindanaoUSAID and U.S. military collaborate on a number of development projects in Basilan, Jolo and across Mindanao. This includes logistics support from the military for the transport of USAID staff and materials to remote locations and the provision of USAID technical advice on certain military-led assistance projects. In the health sector, USAID collaborates with the U.S. military to plan and implement medical and dental missions as a component of the annual Balikatan (“shoulder-to-shoulder”) and Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) military exercises. This includes the planning and execution of MEDCAPs (Medical Civic Action Programs), which are implemented by JSOTF-P and AFP to provide basic medical assistance to local communities who are under-served by existing health systems. Following a MEDCAP, USAID will continue to work with the local community and the Philippine Department of Health to strengthen health services over the long-term. USAID and the U.S. military regularly share technical information and assessments to plan infrastructure projects. In education, USAID manages a program that brings textbooks donated from the United States to Mindanao with the assistance of the locally-based Makati City Rotary Club and JSOTF-P, which provides transportation to deliver the books to remote locations. Together, USAID and JSOTF-P have delivered more than 96,500 books to 104 schools in Mindanao. JSOTF-P has also assisted USAID in installing satellite dishes that bring educational TV programming to remote schools throughout Mindanao. In 2006, USAID complemented JSOTF-P's construction and rehabilitation of classrooms on Jolo with computers and satellite-based internet connections. During the visit by the United States Naval Ship (USNS) Mercy in 2006 to Zamboanga City in Mindanao and several islands in the Sulu Archipelago, USAID assisted U.S. Navy personnel to identify MEDCAP sites, advised on needed public health services, engaged local governments to mobilize additional resources, and provided project staff to assist in the actual delivery of health services. The Future In recent years, the United States has renewed its traditional political, economic, and military ties to the Philippines to promote broad-based development and address 21st century security challenges. Public diplomacy will continue to engage youth and religious leaders, particularly in Muslim areas, to promote a deeper understanding of American values. Ongoing exchange programs provide professional and educational opportunities in the United States for young Filipino leaders, and build awareness among American policy makers of economic and security issues in the Philippines. In the civil-military realm, USAID and JUSMAG plan to continue working closely together on future disaster preparation and response projects and humanitarian assistance operations associated with U.S. Navy ship visits, particularly the USNS Mercy, which is slated to return in 2008. USAID also plans to continue to coordinate with JSOTF-P on many humanitarian and development assistance activities in Mindanao. Finally, USAID is working with its U.S. military partners in the Philippines to find ways to maintain best practices and leave a blueprint for future coordination for incoming staff. The U.S. government aims to keep its strategy in the region flexible, with a focus on the ARMM and other conflict-affected areas, the building of local governance capacity, and increased private sector trade and investment. As a key part of the “3D” strategy, the United States will continue to support the peace process between the Philippine government and the MILF by promoting economic and social development in Mindanao as necessary components to a long-term, political solution to the region's separatist conflict. Lessons Learned As a key implementer of the “3D” strategy, there have been several general lessons learned by USAID in the southern Philippines. One is that it takes long-term effort, patience, persistence, and partnerships to make a difference in conflict-affected areas. Others include ensuring constant coordination among all civilian and military agencies that comprise the Embassy's Country Team. Communication among USG partners is key and needs to be routine, not episodic. Project implementation, whether on the civilian or military side, should be carried out “by, with and through” Filipino partners, through community-based management and cost-sharing, and by strengthening the local government units, which includes the regional, provincial, city, municipal, and the barangay (or village district) administrative systems. Private sector investment should also be encouraged in these local projects and private partners actively sought out to ensure the sustainability of projects that will not receive US funding indefinitely. Planning in these should be consistent and for the long-term, and not dependent on funds or supply. Finally, projects should be realistic and should translate into concrete improvements for the quality of life for the average citizen. In specific regard to the civil-military relationship between USAID and the U.S. military, USAID has learned that it is important to clearly understand the chain of command of its military counterparts and to jointly plan outreach efforts with military Public Affairs Officers. Striking an appropriate balance between security concerns and the public diplomacy value of an activity should always be the goal. USAID has also learned to be prepared for the relative rapid turnover of military personnel at their posts, which differs from its own rotations cycles. In the end, USAID and the DoD are different entities that can and do work successfully together if they can identify in each other areas of mutual interest and appreciation.
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