This primer explains the growing threat of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in the Asia Pacific region and how it puts the Filipino people at further risk in the context of the US pivot to Asia. As FFPS, we uphold the Philippine revolution as a just and viable answer to imperialist war.
NATO: A Tool of US War and Expansion
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a US-led military alliance of 32 member states. While its name would suggest that all member countries share at least one coast with the North Atlantic Ocean, NATO has spread further beyond Europe, and into other continents.
NATO has always functioned as a tool of US military dominance and expansion. It has facilitated US-led interventions and regime change operations far beyond the “North Atlantic” from the former Yugoslavia, to Libya. By continuously expanding eastward after the end of the Cold War, despite promises to the contrary, NATO has heightened tensions contributing to conflicts like the one in Ukraine. This pattern reveals how NATO primarily serves the US’ strategic interests.
Despite recent threats and criticisms made by the Trump regime toward NATO and allied states, the alliance remains a strategic tool of US war-mongering and secured an increase in military spending on the part of European members.
US Pivots to Asia and so does NATO
In 2011, the US, under President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, announced the US “pivot to Asia.” The pivot, which has only intensified under subsequent US regimes, signaled the US intention to expand economic and military control in the resource rich region full of key trade routs, and especially to contain the rise of China as a competing imperialist power. The proclaimed pivot has resulted in US militarism in the Asia Pacific region and in the Philippines, where US military bases and troop presence has multiplied dramatically.
In 2022 NATO followed the US lead and updated their Strategic Concept, naming the Indo Pacific region as “important for NATO,” claiming that “developments in that region can directly affect Euro-Atlantic security.” NATO laid out the “challenges” posed by China and their efforts to “subvert the rules-based international order”. 2 years earlier, NATO released “NATO 2030: United for a New Era”, claiming that China poses “Grave risks” and is “best understood as a full-spectrum systemic rival”.
Results of US Pivot to Asia in Philippines
In 2014, the US and the Philippines signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, or EDCA, which allowed the re-establishment of US military bases in the Philippines, with no control or oversight over the activities of US soldiers or what kind of war materiel will be stored on Philippine soil. It also allows the US to use any road, airport, seaport, or civilian facilities anywhere in the Philippines.
The current President of the Philippines, Marcos Jr., acts as the current comprador of US interests and has maintained and expanded military agreements with the US government. This includes reaffirming the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, expanding the number of US military bases under the EDCA to nine confirmed sites, increased joint military exercises and “security collaboration,” as well as the secret deployment of US Typhon missile systems and boosting of military aid—an additional $500 million in 2024 and a proposed $2.5 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF).
Marcos has further played a key role in allowing US allies, including members and partners of NATO, to sign military agreements and join military exercises with the Philippines.
US Military Build Up and NATO Pivot Endangers Filipino People
In the midst of the increase of US militarism in the Asia-Pacific and in the Philippines, the US has also pushed its allies, including NATO member states, to intensify their presence in the region.
While the US has the Visiting Forces Agreement with the Philippines to allow unrestrained movement and presence of US troops, other countries have signed similar agreements, notably NATO members and “global partners” like Canada, Australia and Japan. Other NATO member states like the UK, France, Spain, and Italy all engage in various forms of intelligence sharing, military training or joint exercises with the Philippines. Germany recently signing an arrangement on increased defense cooperation with the Philippines on May 14, 2025. This came in the heels of Balikatan 2025, the biggest joint military exercise of the U.S. and Filipino troops featuring “full battle test” scenarios.
The 2025 Balikatan exercises included more than 9,000 US troops as well as participants from 19 countries, including for the first time troops from NATO allies Canada and Britain, as well as NATO member France for the 2nd year in a row and from NATO “Global Partners” South Korea, Japan, and Australia. These exercises are used to investigate and test the terrain and topography of the country, showcase and deploy US weaponry as well as a cover to participate in “counterinsurgency” operations on the ground.
US military presence, in addition to the presence of NATO members and partners, denies the right of the Filipino people to an independent foreign policy.
Next to this, each military exercise and training brings with it economic impacts on the basic masses, as farmer’s access to their farmlands are hindered, or as fisherfolk are denied access to the sea. This denial of the people’s right to livelihood is a brazen violation, and one that will worsen with the presence of more troops from more NATO countries. Each new base, whether declared or “secret” brings with it environmental destruction, disruptions to people’s livelihood, as well as increased violence against the people.
As pointed out in the 2024 International People’s Tribunal, the NDFP’s anti-imperialist struggle threatens US geopolitical and economic interests in the Asia-Pacific. The tribunal also found the US-Duterte and US-Marcos regimes guilty of war crimes committed in the context of “counterinsurgency.” For the US, maintaining a controlled regime in the Philippines and suppressing efforts by the Filipino people to assert their right of self-determination is essential to preserve its dominance and to counter any emerging power like China. Therefore, the US will continue to support and direct the GRP’s “counterinsurgency” and base more troops in the Philippines.
As the US is on a desperate drive to maintain control over key trade routes in the Asia Pacific region and maintain dominance over resources as China grows as an economic power, the threat of inter-imperialist war grows and the Philippines is dragged into the crosshairs with the Filipino people put at great risk.
The Philippine revolution – the just and necessary answer to imperialist war
The revolutionary movement provides clear alternatives to endless war and the economic, environmental, and social impacts of foreign aggression. Through the armed struggle, the building of revolutionary bases, and the agrarian revolution, the revolutionary forces are building, step-by-step, an alternative to the current rotten US-puppet state.
The NDFP’s vision for foreign policy, laid out in the 12th point of their 12-point program is:
“After the nationwide seizure of political power by the revolutionary movement, the people’s democratic government shall pursue an active, independent, and peaceful foreign policy. The new government shall reject, and vigorously defend itself against all forms of foreign intervention and interference in the country’s internal affairs from all other states.”
This is in distinct contradiction to the current puppet state, which allows US and NATO-allied troops to engage in their provocations against China, placing the Filipino people directly in the crosshairs of any potential conflict.
Conclusion
As people outside of the Philippines, we must be deeply concerned for the potential threat of inter-imperialist war, US militarism in the Philippines and war crimes faced by the Filipino people as the US pivots to Asia. The eyes of NATO on the Asia-Pacific and the Philippines only puts the people at further risk. The Philippine revolution, and the Filipino people’s militant struggle for national liberation, however, gives hope and remains the pathway to establish peace and thwart imperialist war. The greatest form of solidarity and the best prospect for peace is to support the NDFP in their struggle and assertion of their right to national sovereignty.