RE: Didn’t the Philippines give Reagan some grief and told him to get our service people out of the country. And he did. Perfect!
Yep, it happened under Papa Bush and the withdrawal accelerated with the eruption of Mount Pinatubo.
Years later, with the Philippines facing an insurgency, following the bases’ closure, the Visiting Forces Agreement (Philippines – United States) (VFA) was signed which contained guidelines for the conduct and protection of American troops visiting the Philippines and stipulated the terms and conditions for the American military to enter Philippine territory.
The VFA is a reciprocal agreement in that also outlines the requirements for Philippine troops visiting the United States.
The Visiting Forces Agreement led to the establishment of the Balikatan (Shoulder to shoulder) exercises, as well as a variety of other cooperative military measures.
The Balikatan exercises are designed to maintain and develop the security relationship between the two countries’ armed forces through crisis-action planning, through enhanced training to conduct counterterrorism operations, and through promoting interoperability of the forces.
To make a long story short — THE AMERICAN FORCES ARE STILL THERE.
Yeah, but without Clark AFB and Subic Naval Yard.
IIRC, we were ordered out of Philippines in 1986 when Marcos was overthrown & the new government blamed our relations with Marcos for the murder of Benigno Aquino in 1983.
Mount Pinatubo erupting was bad timing for Manila.