The American factor in Philippine foreign policy (2)

Second of three parts. [Part 1 of this 3-part series came out Saturday Oct. 17.]

FRIENDSHIP between the two countries is bound to endure permanently. This will give the lie to the cliché that, in the relations among nations, there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests. There are a number of reasons why Filipino-American friendship will endure. The historical link is intact. Their security partnership is assured under the 1951 RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT). According to a census report released in March 2010, the Filipinos constitute the second largest Asian group in the US after the Chinese.