His Excellency Ambassador Willy C. Gaa, Embassy of the Philippines, with Brigadier General (Ret.) Victor Corpus
Ambassadors Roundtable
October 6, 2009
Moderated by:
Frank Cilluffo
Director, HSPI
HSPI welcomed Philippine Ambassador Willy Gaa and retired Brigadier General Victor Corpus as part of HSPI’s ongoing Ambassadors Roundtable Series. The discussion highlighted the important lessons learned by the Philippine government in its decades-long struggles against both communist and Islamist insurgencies, including the National People’s Army (NPA), the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF); and against international terror groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah and the Abu Sayyaf Group. Frank Cilluffo, HSPI’s Director, moderated the roundtable.
Ambassador Gaa began by observing that the United States and the Philippines have much to learn from one another. Gaa reviewed the diverse threats his nation faces, emphasizing history as well—including the fight against communist insurgents since the 1960s; and the targeting of the Philippines in the Bojinka plot, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed’s first attempt to use planes as terrorist weapons, which served as model for al Qaeda’s 9/11 attacks. The Ambassador argued that despite the apparent diversity of these threats, common conditions—namely poverty and social disenfranchisement—give rise to and sustain insurgents and terrorist alike. These factors, Gaa suggested, have implications for how to wield both “hard” and “soft” power effectively; and also raise concerns about a growing convergence between terrorism and transnational crime. “A key feature we have noticed in this development,” Gaa said, “are efforts by criminal groups to use or adopt ideology or Islamist beliefs as a cover for criminal activities.”
Against this complex background, Mr. Cilluffo asked what lessons the Philippines had learned about “when to look to the soft means . . . and when to look to kinetic and hard power” responses. To this, Ambassador Gaa stated that each situation is unique; however, a combination of hard and soft power is crucial. When asked further by University of Maryland Professor Arie Kruglanski how, specifically, each type of power was exercised against insurgent groups like the NPA or MILF, Gaa stated that hard power was used to defeat militant organizations, while soft power was employed to address the economic and social grievances that help give rise to such groups.
Participants, including Ronald Buikema of Johns Hopkins University, queried how past attempts to address underlying social issues had reduced the support, size, and efficacy of anti-government forces. Brigadier General Corpus brought to bear his own insights on this matter, framed by his experience as both a former communist insurgent and, later, as head of Philippine military intelligence. Corpus argued that structural reforms and economic development are vital—for they bring the disenfranchised back into society. “I know why people rebel, because that was my own experience,” said Corpus. When asked by Cilluffo about what role the U.S. ought to play, Corpus responded that “the best role the United States can play in the Philippines is helping achieve success for our soft power, not hard power."
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The Ambassadors Roundtable Series is designed to provide Ambassadors to the United States and their key diplomatic staff with a forum to discuss current and future counterterrorism and counterinsurgency efforts on a regional or country-specific basis. In an effort to draw upon various insights and experiences, the Ambassadors Roundtable Series builds upon and institutionalizes efforts over the past two years to engage in a dialogue with members of the international community, policy makers, and practitioners.