We shot ourselves in the foot... again.

Because we (the US) didn't help much during the Mount Pinatubo eruption and Typhoon Yunya and the usual sentiment with a foreign presence on Philippine soil, the US was kicked off Phillippine soil in 1992.



With Chinese naval power threatening the region, we are invited back and we promptly ground a fragile minesweeper on one of their most pristine reefs. Made of plywood, minesweepers crack open when treated thusly, spilling fuel and God knows what else.

http://www.businessinsider.com/uss-guardian-foundering-tubbataha-reef-2013-3

Quote :

When the USS Guardian ran aground at Tubbataha Reef, it damaged 4,000 square yards of reef. For Philippines residents, the Tubbataha Reef is not just pretty and ecologically important: It is needed for hard cash income during diving season. So this was a public-relations disaster.

Duh!

I imagine they miss the money brought in by the bars and hookers more than anything...... Dang that ice cold San Miguel was good beer......

They wanted us out before Pinatubo.

nekochan wrote:

They wanted us out before Pinatubo.

Agreed, Pinatubo was just the scapegoat for our leaving the Philippines.

Yep, it was the final straw. They didn't want us there and they kept upping the money they wanted from the US for us to stay. Negotiations were breaking down before the eruption. The Leftists in the PI wanted us out years before the eruption and they finally got their wish. In fact, the U.S. pumped many, many hundreds of millions of dollars into their economy while we were there.