Ramon Magsaysay on Philippines Foreign Policy
In the following extract from an article written in 1956 Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay set forth the basics of Philippines foreign policy that linked Philippine interests to those of the United States.
In shaping its foreign policy the Philippines is primarily moved by three considerations: . . . first, the strengthening of our national security by suppressing subversion from within and building strength against attacks from without through participation in collective security arrangements with other free nations; second, the utilization of the machinery of our foreign relations for the promotion of our foreign trade and economic cooperation in order to strengthen our domestic economy and to contribute our share to the economic development of a free world; and third, the development of our political and cultural relations with countries of the free world with particular emphasis on our relations with our Asian neighbors through our membership in the United Nations and by participation in regional conferences, such as the Manila Conference of 1954 (SEATO) and the Asian-African Conference in Bandung (1955).
In the pursuit of our objectives and in the choice of our methods our government finds itself closely associated with the United States of America. It is an association immediately dictated by our community of objectives, the most urgent of which is the defense of our freedom against Communist aggression. But our policy of close relations with the United States is not a mere artificial creation of government policy makers, and it is not dictated exclusively by the accident of common purposes. It is the product of experience in serving the national interest.
Source: Ramon Magsaysay. (1956) "Roots of Philippine Policy." Foreign Affairs 35 (October): 29–30.
This complete Magsaysay, Ramon contains 279 words. This
article contains 748 words (approx. 2 pages at 300
words per page).
