What if the Philippines was the 50th State instead of Hawaii? How would it deal with today’s China?

9 comments

1. Honestly if an American state was this close to China. We already either would have went to war, or China would not exist in its current position today.

2. With todays leadership, China could easily take it and nothing would be done. With certain past presidents within the past 50 years, China would have been kept in check

3. r/alternatehistory

4. I think it would generally be the same as it is today. While specific details of incidents in the south China sea would be different, we would be in the same stalemate. The only way anything would have been different would have been the US reaction during WW2 and its post war stance against the communist victory in China.

5. Fwiw, if the Philippines became a state in 1898, it would have been the 46th state

6. The Philippines were actually close to becoming a state. We had them as a territory for about 50 years.

   What prevented them from becoming a state was rank racism and political fears. If the Philippines became a state they would be the most populous state, more than California by millions. Asians would be the largest minority. The US was simply not ready for that in the 40s .

   I kind of wish they had become a state because that would be wild.

   There is a great book called “How to Hide and Empire” by Daniel Immerwahr about the “greater United States” including the history of our territories and other possessions. Despite the kind of inflammatory title it is a great evenhanded view of how the US expanded and the history of our semi-imperial expansion in the pacific and Caribbean.

7. > after the US bought the Philippines from Spain

   I’m no expert on the Philippines, but I’m pretty sure Spain ceded the Philippines to the US. The Philippines also had a revolution at the same time and went from fighting the Spanish to fighting the Americans.

   In any case I don’t think there was a purchase.

8. The US did not buy the Philippines from Spain. We sort of inherited it, along with Puerto Rico and Guam, when the Spanish lost the Spanish-American War.

   I am glad to see us getting closer again (after the closure of Subic Bay). Filipinos occupy a unique place in US culture.

9. China would be a whole lot less aggressive with the S China sea with the US and US Navy neighboring on the other side of it.