Office of the Historian

326. Letter From President Carter to Philippine President Marcos1

Washington, January 4, 1979
Dear Mr. President:

I was pleased to learn that our negotiators have reached agreement on an amendment to the 1947 Military Bases Agreement.2

In light of this development, I wish to state that the Executive Branch of the United States Government will, during the next five fiscal years, make its best effort to obtain appropriations for the Philippines of the following amounts of security assistance:

Military Assistance: $50 million
Foreign Military Sales Credits: $250 million
Security Supporting Assistance: $200 million

In addition, the United States will give prompt and sympathetic consideration to requests for specific items of military equipment to be provided under these programs, and to requests for the sale of other military equipment which your government may wish to purchase [Page 1058] through U.S. Government or commercial channels, consistent with the worldwide policies of this government with respect to the transfer of conventional arms.

In closing, let me state once again that I appreciate your personal efforts in bringing these negotiations to a successful conclusion. I believe that the amendment to which our two governments have now agreed will strengthen the security not only of the Philippines and the United States but also of the entire Western Pacific region.

Sincerely,

Jimmy Carter
  1. Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Brzezinski Office File, Country Chron File, Box 39, Philippines, 1979–1980. No classification marking.↩
  2. The new agreement, signed on January 7 by Romulo and Murphy, provided that the Philippines would hold sovereignty over the bases, that the Philippine flag would fly over the bases, and that the agreement would be reviewed at 5-year intervals to ensure the continued mutual interests of both parties. (30.1 UST 863 (1978–1979); TIAS 9224) Murphy’s report on the signing ceremony, which Marcos, the Philippine Cabinet, and top military personnel attended, is in telegram 398 from Manila, January 7. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D79009–0351)↩