In January, the Philippine and U.S. governments announced plans to allow U.S. military access to four additional bases in the Philippines. This agreement to base more U.S. military assets in the Philippines poses a threat to peace.

Since the Obama administration’s “pivot” from the Middle East to the Asia-Pacific, the U.S. government has pursued an increasingly explicit confrontationist stance against China. Initiated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2011, this stance escalated further under the Trump and Biden administrations. If anything, Democrats have been more hardline than Republicans, as demonstrated by U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last August.

In sending military aid to Ukraine, the Biden administration has shown itself to be willing to risk a wider war, perhaps even nuclear war, in order to “weaken” (per Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin) Russia, another designated enemy. Since February 2022, the U.S. has sent more than $18 billion in military aid to Ukraine. The defense budget has grown by more than 4% per year over the last two years, and the arms industry saw its stock prices climb by 32% during 2022. The military-industrial complex is benefiting handsomely from the war in Ukraine — and from preparations for war against China in the Asia-Pacific.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan of the Air Mobility Command recently said, “My gut tells me will fight in 2025.” Military analysts are constantly “gaming” scenarios. While some are tabletop exercises, others involve military forces and equipment.

In April 2022, the U.S. sent 5,000 troops to the Philippines for Balikatan war exercises. Around the same time, Hawaii’s U.S. Rep. Ed Case visited to promote ties between the Duterte and Biden governments.

In July 2022, 38 warships, more than 170 aircraft and some 25,000 personnel from more than two dozen countries converged on Hawaii for the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises. Pointedly, China, which had been invited to participate in previous RIMPACs in 2014 and 2016, has been disinvited since 2018.

During the Vietnam War, U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay and Clark Air Base were among the largest overseas U.S. military bases. The U.S. military presence in the Philippines was characterized by exploitation of women, environmental contamination and many documented human rights violations.

Progressive forces in the Philippines protested the arrival of Austin and called the building of new U.S. bases a foreign military intervention. Renato Reyes of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) noted, “The matter of asserting Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights rests with the Filipinos, not any foreign power.”

U.S. military presence in the Philippines makes it a target in a conflict, similar to Taiwan, Guam, Okinawa, South Korea and Japan. The Biden administration’s policy continues to prioritize U.S. strategic interests over human rights. Peace-loving citizens in solidarity with the Filipino people’s struggles are calling for an end to using American people’s tax dollars to fund the Philippine military. It is outrageous that the Biden administration pursues military dominance of the Asia-Pacific by rebuilding its military facilities in the Philippines.

We in Hawaii who support the call of the Filipino people do not want any more military abusers, murders and prostitution. We don’t want RIMPAC back in 2024. The people of Asia and the Pacific experienced enough war during the 20th century. We do not want World War III. We want international peace and friendship. We reject U.S. military intervention in the Philippines!

Seiji Yamada, Arcelita Imasa, and Richard Rothschiller are members of the Hawaii Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines.