Prime Minister and Mrs. Lee Kuan Yew arrived at 1:05 PM for an unofficial visit.
I accelerated the Constitution Day celebration to this morning at Maharlika Hall so I can attend to the Prime Minister.
We have played 13 holes of golf at Manila Golf Club this afternoon.
I can feel some fears by the Singapore leaders that America is leaving Southeast Asia to be fought over between Russia and China with the U.S. merely standing by while these two powers weaken each other. Minister [Sinnathamby] Rajaratnam and others referred to the American President elect [James] Carter’s statement that the U.S. will withdraw from South Korea after consultation with Japan.
But will they withdraw from the Philippines? Min. Rajaratnam says they would as we in Southeast Asia are not considered vital to American interests. Only Japan, Australia and New Zealand are considered by them as vital, he says.
But America may withdraw only from the mainland which includes South Korea and of course Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
And not withdraw from Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.
Under the doctrine of the narrow straits, however, Singapore and Malaysia would still be strategically important.
This, I explained to him.
Whether under a global or a regional strategic plan of bases in the Philippines would still be vital—specially for the Indian Ocean.
This raises the question of our defenses strategic policy.
In case of a nuclear war, we would all be incinerated or killed off by the nuclear fallout. So the bases are immaterial.
In a conventional war, if any super power wants us, we would become a battle ground anyway even if there are no bases.
No Official Gazette entry for this day.
But if we are not hit directly by nuclear war missiles we might have a chance to survive. If we have U.S. bases, we would be hit first.
In a conventional war, the bases may spell the difference between victory and defeat of the free world as against the communist world.
And all the invitations notwithstanding we would rather have the free world victorious.
The presence of American bases would discourage attack on the Philippines by a prospective enemy in a conventional war.
So the decision could very well hinge on our perception of what kind of a war threatened with—nuclear or conventional—and by whom.
However, the controversy still hinges on the reliability of the U.S. as an ally. Will the U.S. defend us or leave us to fend for ourselves as in Bataan. Does the U.S. intend to protect us, and if so how.