Herbert Adams Gibbons
In the early 1930s, Gibbons argued that an American withdrawal from the Philippines would be futile, because Japan would immediately colonize the country if the United States were to pull out. In 1931, in a speech in Manila, Gibbons referred to the Philippine calls for independence as "claptrap." He said that if the United States were to withdraw, then it might as well negotiate with the League of Nations to hand the Philippines over to Japan as a mandate. The American business community roundly praised Gibbons' speech. However, Philippine nationalist leaders attacked Gibbons, saying that he was raising the "Japanese bogy" as a hurdle to Philippine independence. (Ultimately, the United States did not grant Philippine independence until 1946, after Japan was no longer a military threat to the former colony.)
Indonesia–Philippines relations
Since Indonesia's proclamation of independence on 17 August 1945 and the Philippines independence on 4 July 1946, the old cordial relationship between Indonesians and the Filipinos are reestablished. On November 24, 1949, the two countries established diplomatic relations. Since 1949, the Indonesian Government has opened its representative office (Consular Office) in Manila but it was not until the early 1950s that a diplomatic office (embassy) was established headed by an Ambassador. To institutionalize the relation between the two countries, a treaty of friendship was signed on 21 June 1951. This Treaty constituted the basic relationship of both countries, covering several aspects such as maintenance of peace and friendship, settlement of disputes by diplomatic and peaceful means, traffic arrangements for citizens of both countries and activities to promote cooperation in the area of trade, cultural, shipping, etc. which include the political, social-economic and security matters of both countries. In 1967, both countries together with Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia founded ASEAN to ensure the peace and stability in the region.