The Philippine Problem Enters a New Phase

PECENT Administration statements on the Philippines are among the most important indications of the orientation of American foreign policy. The broader implications of President Roosevelt's proposals of January II last with regard to pending trade problems were not generally appreciated at the time. It was only when High Commissioner Paul V. McNutt on March i5 advocated permanent American sovereignty over the Philippines that it became clear important changes in existing political relationships were being seriously considered. In the present phase of the evolution of American policy in the Far East, the Philippines necessarily play a key role. The Islands dependency is, after all, the most tangible and direct point of contact between firmly established American interests and the complexus of the Far East. The course followed by Washington with regard to the Philippines is at this time the touchstone of American Far Eastern policy. Should the United States cast the Philippines loose, this would be the surest indication that it intends to withdraw from the Western Pacific; and, by the same token, steps now being proposed to prolong American sovereignty clearly indicate that the United States intends to maintain its Far Eastern positions. In his January announcement, Roosevelt outlined the general plan which undoubtedly will be presented in detail by the report of the Joint Preparatory Committee of Filipino and American experts. The substance of the President's recommendation is that the period of preferential trade be extended to i960. If this proves acceptable, steps would then be taken to amend the economic provisions of the Tydings-McDuffie Independence Act. Although this would seem to open the way for further revisions, the President indicated that he did not then contemplate any change in the independence provision of the Act. It has been clear for some time that the Tydings-McDuffie Act

Phase (matter) · Physics · Political science · Economic Zones and Regional Development · Global trade and economics