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export effort which is now offering the prospect of considerable success after much painstaking work laying the foundations in earlier years.
I therefore recommend no change in these areas for the time being, though internally we will need to keep these matters under normal routine review.
15.
I must conclude this section of my report by acknowledging all the advice, support and kindness we received from our representatives in ROK. The very full programme was well planned and executed and it provided excellent scope for reinforcing UK defence interests. We were warmly received everywhere and are most grateful to all concerned for their part in such a worthwhile and interesting visit.
VISIT TO THE PHILIPPINES 5-10 MAY 89
16. This first COS visit to the Philippines was conducted primarily at the request of the FCO with the objective of renewing high level military contact with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and as an indication of the United Kingdom's support for the new democratic era under President Aquino.
17.
After a turbulent and unstable period following the collapse of the Marcos regime, which has included a series of unsuccessful military coups d'etat, there are some hopeful signs that the Aquino government is now more firmly established and that the 'new democracy' in the Philippines is starting to take root. Many problems remain, including massive foreign debt, concern about the longer term future of the economy and, to a lesser extent, a general air of drift in the administration as Aquino enters her fourth year as President. The Country is also faced with a serious problem of insurgency which the Army claims to be overcoming with some impressive but unsubstantiated statistics. Despite all the unresolved difficulties, the Country has so far survived a most dangerous transition from dictatorship to a young and tender democracy, offering the best prospect for long term stability in the region, which accords with UK trade and wider interests.
18.
At the most senior levels the Minister of Defence (Ramos) and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (General de Villa), set out clearly their overall strategy for eliminating insurgency, based largely on classical and well tried COIN principles embracing economic, political and military measures. I am less convinced that the theory is working out so well in practice further down the chain of command, but there is now a concerted effort to improve the effectiveness and selectivity of COIN operations. There is clearly a long haul ahead, but this new and concerted approach, however imperfect in its application, may yet prove to be a turning point in this long and difficult campaign. support is small, deliberately low profile, but very highly valued by the President herself and operationally cost-effective. UNISON 1, to be followed shortly by UNISON 2, together with occasional special courses and places for instructors on the Jungle Warfare Course in Brunei, are seen as both a major contribution to internal security in their own right and as an important but deliberately low profile expression of UK support for the 'new democracy'.
F VVISREPS/1
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