U.N.Special Representative Radhika Coomaraswamy says during the past year, a significant number of child soldiers were released by the National Liberation Forces in Burundi and more children are to be released in the Central African Republic and the Philippines as a result of active intervention by the United Nations.

VOA: standard.2009.09.16

We are obviously very close, having been hosted for many years in Japan and in the Republic of the Philippines.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing with Ben Rhodes and Admiral Robert Willard

These doubts were proven wrong nearly six decades ago, when the Republic of the Philippines became the first democratic nation in Asia.

NPR: 'Folly of Empire' Offers Critique of U.S. Imperialism

And in the case of the Republic of the Philippines and Thailand, very old relationships, strong mil-to-mil relationships that continue to evolve and we hope advance.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing with Ben Rhodes and Admiral Robert Willard