Review

Author(s): R. A. Longmire
Review by: R. A. Longmire
Source: International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-), Vol. 66, No.
3 (Jul., 1990), pp. 634-635
Published by: Wiley on behalf of the Royal Institute of International Affairs
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2623176
Accessed: 27-06-2016 02:31 UTC

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Asia and Pacific

the past three years, the military's position in society is in a state of flux and further bids for power
by the AFP cannot be excluded. Meanwhile, governmental encouragement of vigilante groups
all over the country has been condemrned by human rights organizations since many vigilantes
shoot first and ask questions later.
Davis presents a more engaged work. His sympathies for the downtrodden and oppressed lead
him to depict the NPA in the most favourable light. There is comparatively little about their
brand of terrorism; one exception is an account of the 'sparrow units' (assassination squads) in
the cities (pp. 63-6), but the murders committed by them are said to be 'political statements'.
He has much interesting information to impart about the insurgent leaders, the organization and
tactics of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the role of women in the movement and the
attitude of the Church towards insurgency. For the sad state of the economy and the country at
large he rightly condemns the Filipino elite-but not nearly as much as he does the Americans,
who, in his view are the real villains of the situation. They have done nothing but exploit the
country. The US bases are for attack, not defence. The US has a long history of aggression (p.
98) and aspires to world control and domination (p. I74). Clearly, the most important thing for
America to do is to pack up and leave (p. I75). Such sentiments, however sincerely felt, reduce
the book to the level of a political tract.
The impression left by these two works is that the outlook for the Philippines is sombre. Since,
in Kessler's phrase, the elite is 'more interested in amassing wealth than in social reform' (p. I 52)
and President Aquino has been unwilling or unable to rise above her elitist background and deal
with the problems of land reform and pressure of population, it looks at the moment as though
the contest for control of the country may well be fought out between the NPA and the AFP.
Of the two, the former seems more deeply motivated despite the endeavours of the reform
movement in the latter. Another important point which Kessler makes as he looks into the future
is how little America can influence the course of events. Whilst it can encourage democratic
trends, target aid more judiciously and help in specified areas such as agricultural production,
telecommunications, education and population planning, in the final analysis, all these initiatives
'would be taken at the margin of Philippine affairs'. America 'lacks the financial resources, the
will, and even the right to define the Philippine future'. It can only help to 'clarify the problems
and provide the means whereby Filipinos themselves determine their destiny'.

R. A. Longmire

International economic pluralism: economic policy in East Asia and the Pacific. By
Peter Drysdale. New York: Columbia University Press. I989. 294pp. Index. $46.oo. ISBN
0 231 o6936 7.

In the dark years of 'Eurosclerosis', the Pacific was hailed as the growth area of the twenty-first
century. Now that the I992 project and the collapse of the Russian empire have generated
'Euroeuphoria', there is a danger that the Pacific will, at least temporarily, be forgotten by
Europeans. This book reminds us of the area's enormous strength and potential. How to define
the area is, of course, controversial. For some it encompasses Japan, the newly industrializing
countries (NICs) and the western coast of the United States. Others, including Drysdale, see it
as a much wider region that covers the whole of North America, South-East and North-East
Asia, China and Oceania.
There would seem to be little that could draw such a vast area together. Unlike Europe, there
is no common history or common cultural tradition, no regional consciousness and virtually no
common institution. Even mere economic integration would seem to be very difficult-the
distances are immense, protectionism is widespread and living standards very different (between
Papua New Guinea and the United States, for instance, they vary in a ratio of I to 25). Yet,
despite this exceptional heterogeneity, trade integration in the early I980s (the latest period
covered by most of Drysdale's data) was surprisingly high.
Recent trends have almost certainly raised integration yet further. Dollar overvaluation in the
mid-ig8os increased the penetration of the NICs into the US market, while the strong yen of the

635
22 IFC 66

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