“Americans and Asians facing new opportunities and challenges together:
The example of the Philippines”

A Conversation with the Association of Harvard University Alumni Clubs of Asia (AHUACA)

U.S. Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone
November 20, 2004

Magandang hapon sa inyong lahat.

Good afternoon. What a pleasure to join such a distinguished group of leaders today for a conversation on such an important topic as the opportunities and challenges that we Americans and Asians face together in our Pacific Hemisphere. I thank the members of the Harvard University Alumni Clubs of Asia for inviting me, and thanks in particular to Association President Estilito Mendoza, and Harvard Alumni Presidents Kim Camacho, and Teodoro Regala for the invitation. And I should acknowledge from the outset that it was my own US Mission colleague, Chato Calderon of the United States Agency for International Development, who brought me here. Like most people, I can not say “no” to Chato, who is one persuasive diplomat.

I’m particularly honored to know that other very distinguished guests also are with us today, both Harvard alumni and some of us lesser beings as well. I’m told that we have some Cabinet members who were going to come, or have been here at different parts of the conference. I see that a former Cabinet member, my good friend Lito Camacho is here, along with his lovely wife Kim. Certainly Alumni Association President James Ullyot and Ms. Ryan get the prize for traveling the farthest distance.

There are several reasons why I found it particularly appropriate to meet with you today. First is a matter of equity and non-partisanship, during this fifth annual International Education Week. The night before last, I hosted a dinner for my fellow Dartmouth alumni to honor the visit of our distinguished professor of music, Bill Summers. We all got so typically boisterous that we quickly forgot Dartmouth’s otherwise heartbreaking loss to Harvard, 13-12, in the homecoming game on October 30. In a gesture of self-mortification, you’ll notice that I even found a crimson tie to wear today.

When we Americans and Filipinos think “education,” many of us think “Dartmouth.” A few others probably think “Harvard.” And it is indeed a pretty fine school, as this large ballroom full of outstanding leaders in so many fields attests. And I must confess that one of my brothers, who was not accepted at Dartmouth, did graduate from Harvard, and is now a judge in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (Actually, I don’t think Dave even had the sense to apply to Dartmouth!)

Apart from upholding Dartmouth’s sense of noblesse oblige to Harvard, there are several other reasons why it’s especially timely that we gather today. Even as we speak, the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Council are meeting across the water in Santiago, Chile, to look ahead to the opportunities we must seize together and the challenges we must face together. And in the past year alone, so many of the APEC leaders, like Presidents Bush and Arroyo, have won fresh mandates and gained new energy through their respective democratic processes, as democracy spreads its reach and deepens its roots throughout the Asia-Pacific region. President Bush has emphasized his second term goal to continue strengthening alliances, especially in Asia. And Secretary Powell reaffirmed this point during his press conference this week, pointing explicitly to our “solid alliances in Asia, with Japan and South Korea and the Philippines and Thailand and Australia,” and the need to strengthen these even more.

Indeed the first Bush administration brought historic energy and attention to the Asia-Pacific region through the extensive Asian experience of such senior officers as Secretary Powell, Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, and Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly. In fact, for the most comprehensive assessment of how far we have come, and what we Americans and Asians have accomplished together in the past four years, and our directions in President Bush’s second term, I refer you to Jim Kelly’s excellent speech just a few days ago at the Woodrow Wilson center. We’ll make sure it is on our Embassy website.
President Bush, Kelly said, has "emphasized strengthening and revitalizing our alliances." More mature partnerships, he said, have developed between the United States and Japan, Australia, Thailand and South Korea. He noted that relations with the Philippines have "rebounded after reaching a low point in the mid-1990s after the withdrawal" of the U.S. military bases.

We can expect similar dynamism and attention to our shared Asian-Pacific interests in President Bush’s second term. We were very pleased that the President’s nominee to succeed Secretary Powell, Dr.Condoleeza Rice, not only has visited us in the Philippines with President Bush last year, but also she has traveled just a few months ago to Japan, South Korea, and China.

I confess that I have nothing approaching the expertise in Asia-Pacific affairs of any of the distinguished Americans I have just mentioned. Nonetheless, my vantage point on the US-Philippines partnership may offer examples to illuminate the larger picture of the growth and dynamism in US-Asian cooperation.

The mission of the US Embassy here in the Philippines has been to “revitalize and carry to maturity the US-Philippine partnership and alliance.” And indeed it has been an exciting time to be U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines. Our two Presidents have fresh mandates. They paid state visits to each other last year, and are meeting again in Santiago today. The new energy and care they have brought to our relations carry across all the programs and operations in the three main business lines of the United States’ Mission to the Philippines:

· strengthening our mutual security,
· building our mutual prosperity, and
· serving the American and Filipino public.

We strive for excellence in all three endeavors. Hence our motto:

“Security, Prosperity, Service, Excellence.”

Strengthening Our Mutual Security

When our friends are strong and secure, we, too, are stronger and more secure. This afternoon, Secretary of National Defense Avelino Cruz will unveil the Philippine Defense Reform (PDR) initiative at the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio. Presidents Bush and Arroyo launched this program during their historic state visits last year.

The PDR is a comprehensive, multi-year program involving legislative, policy, and organizational change to improve training, procurement, finance, and information management so that the Philippine military will perform to its highest potential. It aims to greatly improve transparency and accountability in all operations and at all levels, top to bottom.

As part of this program, U.S. experts have supported leaders of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in analyzing its strategic resources, tactical capabilities, logistics infrastructure, and training capabilities. The Government of the Philippines has provided over $17 million in support of PDR for 2004, while my Government dedicated $7 million in Fiscal Year 04 to implement PDR initiatives.

The PDR will lend further American support to the efforts of President Arroyo, Secretary Cruz, and Chief of the AFP Abu to eradicate corruption in the Armed Forces and support the Filipino soldiers. As the AFP succeeds in this vital mission to defeat this internal enemy – and their “will to win” is clear -- the AFP’s success can only help create a “virtuous cycle” as President Arroyo tries to bring all other government agencies to reach what sociologists call the “tipping point” at which “rampant honesty” and good government can break out.

But our support for our mutual security extends beyond the military to strengthening the rule of law through all the civilian agencies of government and civil society. Strengthening the rule of law in the Philippines, in our view, is the most important contribution we can make to our mutual security, but also Asia’s regional security. For example, the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Justice, and other U.S. government agencies, like the DEA, provide counter-terrorism training and assistance for civilian personnel of the Government of the Philippines. Over 900 members of the Philippine National Police have completed training we have provided to strengthen skills in crime scene preservation, evidence documentation and collection; interview techniques; and courtroom testimony. The total amount of U.S. counterterrorism training to Philippine civilian law enforcement agencies in FY 04 was worth $7,375,000, including small amounts of equipment transfers and some construction-related assistance. Beyond law enforcement, we also support Chief Justice Davide’s campaign to strengthen the courts and the administration of Justice through a great variety of training and assistance programs.

The Millennium Challenge Account and Regional Prosperity

We agree with President Arroyo, however, that we must address together the poverty that can incubate or exacerbate threats to the security and larger well-being of all Filipinos. In 2002, President Bush proposed a new compact for development, “The Millennium Challenge Account.” Under this compact, President Bush is asking the U.S. Congress to increase our assistance to developing countries by 50% over the next three years, resulting in a $5 billion annual increase over current levels.

The Millennium Challenge Account recognizes that economic development assistance can be successful only if it is linked to sound policies – and equally important, to implementing – not just professing – sound policies. In sound policy environments, every dollar of aid attracts two dollars of private capital. But ironically, and tragically, in countries where poor public policy dominates, assistance can actually harm the citizens it is meant to help by crowding out private investment and perpetuating failed policies. We have seen the failure of aid programs in several countries. Where corruption is rampant and the rule of law ignored, economic assistance cannot have any positive, long-term benefit.
Indeed, the Asia-Pacific leaders meeting in Chile this weekend are determined to work collectively to improve governance and fight corruption throughout the region. I expect they will announce new initiatives to follow up their agreement in Bangkok last year to implement specific transparency standards through the “Transparency by 2005 Strategy.”

Just two weeks ago, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) designated the Philippines as one of six countries eligible for its 2005 Threshold Program, enabling them to apply for grants designed to help them qualify for the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). As the Philippines moves forward with its own domestic reforms, like measures to raise tax revenue, eradicate corruption, and improve transparency at all levels of governance, I am confident it will qualify for expanded support under the MCA.

Strengthening People-to-People Relationships

I mentioned that one of our most important Mission objectives in the Philippines is to provide excellent service to Americans and Filipinos. One of the reasons the U.S. and the Philippines matter so much to each other is the millions of people to people ties between our nations. Almost three million Filipinos and Fil-Ams live in the United States, while we have one of the largest U.S. expatriate communities in the Philippines. Over 105,000 Americans, maybe as many as 130,000 Americans, live in this wonderful country – this wonderful and safe country. The country with the next largest number of expatriates is Australia, with 102,000, followed by Japan with 70,000 and China with 65,000. Clearly, our human-to-human relationships are vibrant and will only expand as the world continues to grow smaller.

Just recently, I came across an article in “The Atlantic” that amazed me by illustrating one mundane but powerful human impact of globalization. The article graphically charted international phone traffic. In 2002, international phone calls between the United States and other countries exploded to almost 55 billion minutes. And which Asians, do you suppose, talk the most with Americans? Filipinos, of course! There is now more phone traffic each year between the United States and the Philippines, than between the U.K. and France, or France and Germany. Japan, China, South Korea and Australia also registered high levels of phone traffic to the United States. So for all its challenges and dislocations, “globalization” is bringing us together in so many ways, both across the Pacific and across the globe.

Just as you will draw upon your time at the conference here in the Philippines to build friendships and foster alumni ties, I ask that you think about ways to continue the long-established Dartmouth – excuse me, should I say, “Ivy League” – or rather “Asian-American” tradition of talking, talking, talking to each other. Of sharing ideas, to ensure that our respective countries, and especially our young people throughout the Asian region, continue to grow and develop in a way that builds a solid foundation for successive generations.

Let me close by suggesting just one way you might do so. Since this is International Education Week, and since all of us here are the products of world-class, expensive educations, I will offer a small commercial for a deliberate American effort to bring our young people together from across the globe, just as Dartmouth -- and Harvard, and other fine institutions -- do: Even as we improve the security of our borders, the United States continues very much to welcome all people to our country for all good human purposes: to do business, to relax as tourists, to visit friends and family, or to be healed at our great hospitals. But perhaps most of all, we welcome those who want to come to study and to teach and to do research. Secretary Powell has established our motto of “Secure borders, open doors.” As proud alumni of one of the proudest – just ONE of the proudest – American institutions of higher learning, I hope that you will continue to encourage rising young people to follow your example: not only to come study in the United States and enrich Americans’ knowledge of Asia by their very presence, but also to return to Asia to accelerate its march to greater prosperity and stronger democracies for all of us.

Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you again for inviting me to join you today. As we say here in Manila, Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat, at Mabuhay!

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