Exchange of Remarks With the President of the Philippines at the Signing of the Treaty of Mutual Defense.
Mr. President, distinguished guests:
I am very glad that it was possible for you to join us here today. Mr. President, we have witnessed the signing of a mutual defense treaty between our two great countries. The signing of this treaty symbolizes the close ties that bind the people of the Philippines and the people of the United States.
Our community of interest was put to the bitter test when our two peoples stood shoulder to shoulder on the battlefield, a few short years ago, to resist aggression. In that struggle our countries went together through the agony of temporary defeat, and together rose to the heights of victory. In defeat and victory we were not divided. We showed to all the world that aggressors can defeat free men only temporarily, and divide them never, so long as the fire of freedom bums in their hearts.
In peace as well as in war our countries have worked together. The half century of peaceful and fruitful cooperation between the Philippines and the United States is proof that both our countries are guided by the same ideals and striving for the same objectives. We have demonstrated that two peoples, however different they may be in background and experience, can work together for their common welfare if they have the same belief in democracy and the same faith in freedom.
The treaty that we are signing here today, therefore, rests on firm foundations. It gives formal expression to something that already exists--to the firm relationship of brotherhood that binds our countries together.
We have already expressed in other agreements our common interest in matters of defense and in economic matters. We have shown our common devotion to the cause of peace in our support of the Charter of the United Nations. Our soldiers are fighting side by side today in Korea just as they fought at Bataan and Corregidor--and for the same purpose--to check aggression and defend the rights of free peoples.
This treaty, therefore, is a natural development springing from the long association of our countries and our common sacrifices for freedom. It is a strong step toward security and peace in the Pacific. It demonstrates to all nations that we intend to continue our common course and to work together in the future, as we have in the past, for peace for all mankind.
Mr. President, the people of the United States are happy to join with the people of the Philippines in this mutual expression of our united will to go forward in the cause of peace and freedom. And I pledge to you, Mr. President, the same pledge which you made to the United States: We shall always be your friend.
Note: The President spoke at 12:28 p.m. at the Departmental Auditorium in Washington. The text of President Quirino's remarks follow:
"We have witnessed today an act that may be described as the end of the beginning. Here we have set the first milestone on the road towards the enduring security of the Pacific area.
"I have special reason to rejoice at this moment because it was not so long ago, in this same capital, that I took the liberty of proposing the conclusion of a Pacific Security Pact under the initiative of the United States. This is the first fruit of that vision.
"This is a treaty of mutual defense with unavoidable connotations of military action. Yet it is, in fact, wholly dedicated to peace and to the methods of peace. It means so much to the economic development and happiness of the Filipino people. Here our two countries pledge themselves anew to the principle of the pacific settlement of disputes enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. Here we have assumed a formal undertaking to assist each other and to stand together in the face of aggression, in the hope that hereafter we may be able to follow undistracted the fruitful pursuits of peace.
"We have no aggressive aims against anyone. Our purpose is rather to give notice that a potential aggressor must henceforth take due account of our common purpose and united will to act in self-defense. From the history of the Filipino people and of our relations with the United States during the past 50 years, nobody can have the slightest doubt about our devotion to freedom and our readiness to share in its defense.
"On this solemn occasion, Mr. President, may I convey to you, and through you to the American people, the deepest sentiments of good will and friendship from the people of the Philippines. This treaty proclaims the sense of unity of our two peoples, and this is a declaration of historic importance especially to us. For we have established our unity of purpose, not on any considerations of race, creed, or equality of power, but solely on the ground of our common faith in freedom. Though humbled by the great significance of this alliance, the Filipino people are nevertheless proud that our young Republic has merited this recognition of its faith and its courage. I bring to witness at this signing, Mr. President, the undying faith in democracy of the Filipino people and the courage to defend it with all our strength."
Gen. Carlos P. Romulo, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, and Dean Acheson, Secretary of State, also spoke. The text of their remarks was released by the White House. The proceedings were broadcast.
Harry S Truman, Exchange of Remarks With the President of the Philippines at the Signing of the Treaty of Mutual Defense. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/230683
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