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| Screenshot of some Pages from Col. Samson Mahimer's Research Paper |
Another gem we can pick up from the Research Report of Philippine Air Force (PAF) Pilot Col. Samson Mahimer in 1988 was how the United States (US) sided with Malaysia on the Philippines’ dispute with Malaysia on the island of Sabah in 1968.
The US’ support of Malaysia was made public to the point that it was headlined all over the news, which he found to be demoralizing as it is not something you would expect from a supposed close ally.
What’s worst is how reportedly the US discreetly took steps to derail the PAF by delaying or even withholding Spare Parts for its Fighter Aircraft which at that time were made in the US like the F-86 Sabre and F-5A/B Freedom Fighter aircraft.
To quote his own words: ”I was a fighter pilot in 1968 deployed in Cebu, Philippines, when newspaper headlines said, "US Backs Malaysia" during the near confrontation of the Philippines and Malaysia over the ownership of Sabah, North Borneo. This hit the Filipinos hard. At the least they had expected that an ally would remain neutral, and at the most help the two countries iron out their differences.
Although there is little similarity between the Philippines-Malaysia rift and a hypothetical attack of a communist country such as the USSR or China, which is the immediate object of the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, the impact of the US promptly siding Malaysia triggered overt doubts about the reliability of the US as an ally of the Philippines.
Immediately spare parts for fighter planes of the Philippine Air Force were either not arriving on time or not available. The reason given by JUSMAG was that the parts were shipped erroneously to Iran and Vietnam. Right or wrong this fueled the doubts of the people. The Sabah issue headlines evoked the very first mass protest in front of the US Embassy, and prompted the Philippine Congress to take closer scrutiny of US-Philippines relations.
When the Philippine government started recalling its contingent of troops from Vietnam, speculation ran high that this was due partly to the 1968 incident. Right or wrong, Filipinos recall this incident as a pattern of how the US deal with its commitments in the Philippines.”
Can you imagine that, and to think that we were hosting their bases right here in our own country at that time. This is the reason why countries like India and Indonesia are always looking to balance their military to be not too dependent on the West, why they keep buying military equipment and weapons from other sources like Russia.
Note that Sabah was leased to the British in Malaysia, not sold. For more on the Sabah issue, click here for a good reference about it.
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