This timeline covers the Inter-war period, World War II, the Cold War, and the Post-Cold War era of the 20th Century and the first two decades of the 21st Century.
Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the 32nd President of the United States.
The United States and the Soviet Union establish diplomatic relations.
Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP; German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), commonly known as the Nazi Party, take power in Germany.
1934 (First POD)[]
March 24: The Tydings-McDuffee Law is signed, granting independence to the Philippines after ten years. Part of the law mentions that areas with a significant American population can hold referenda to become small US territories/enclaves if the population chooses to do so.
1935[]
Establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and Quezon's inauguration.
November 15: Commonwealth of the Philippines is established. Manuel L. Quezon is inaugurated as the first President of the Commonwealth (and the second President of the Philippines).
1937[]
Japan invades Manchuria, starting the Second Sino-Japanese War.
December 12: The USS Panay (PR-5) river gunboat is sunk by Japanese aircraft on the Yangtze River, killing three US Navy sailors and wounding 43 others. US-Japan relations begin to sour.
December 13: The Nanking massacre is committed by the Imperial Japanese Army.
1939[]
September 1: Nazi Germany invades Poland. France and the United Kingdom declare war on Germany, thus starting World War II.
November 30: The Winter War begins with the Soviet invasion of eastern Finland. Finnish forces counterattack, hindering Soviet advance.
1940s[]
1940[]
March 13: The Winter War ends with Moscow Peace Treaty, which states that cession of the Gulf of Finland islands, Karelian Isthmus, Ladoga Karelia, Salla, and Rybachy Peninsula, and lease of Hanko to the Soviet Union.
May 10: Germany invades France after securing the Low Countries. The British Expeditionary Forces retreat into Dunkirk, awaiting evacuation.
May 26: Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of British, French, and other allied soldiers from France into Britain, succeeds in the evacuation of over 338,826 soldiers. Nonetheless, several were left behind including small arms and vehicles which were then captured by the German Army.
July 10: German aircraft begin bombing British cities, beginning the Battle of Britain.
October 31: The Luftwaffe fails to bomb Britain into submission, resulting in Royal Air Force victory. German air raids continue in what is known as The Blitz.
1941[]
June 21: Germany and its allies begins its invasion of the Soviet Union, codenamed Operation Barbarossa. Initial Soviet forces are rerouted.
December 5: Soviet forces successfully defend Moscow, driving the Germans from the city's outskirts.
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
December 8 (December 7 in the US):
Imperial Japanese forces bomb the US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, killing roughly 2,000 American sailors and destroying or damaging countless battleships.
Simultaneously, Japanese forces begin their invasion of the Philippines, Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, Thailand, and Burma. Japanese forces also enter the Shanghai International Settlement, where foreign nationals are taken to an internment camp.
December 25: Manila is declared an open city. Despite this, Japanese air forces bomb the city. Hong Kong falls to the Japanese.
1942[]
January 7: American and Filipino soldiers retreat to Bataan, fighting the advancing Japanese forces into a last stand.
January 31: Malaya falls to the Japanese.
February 15: Singapore falls to the Japanese.
February 19: Japanese-Americans and Japanese citizens in the United States are sent to internment camps. A similar move is done to Japanese citizens and Japanese-Canadians in Canada.
Bataan Death March.
April 9: Bataan finally falls to the Japanese after four months of resistance. Surviving American and Filipino soldiers are forced into a death march into the Cabanatuan prison, in what is known as the Bataan Death March, one of the worst Japanese atrocities in the Second World War.
May 6: Corregidor Island, the last bastion of Allied resistance in the Philippines, falls to the Japanese. President Manuel Quezon and his family, alongside General Douglas MacArthur was evacuated from the island in a gunboat, first making stops in Aklan, Dumaguete, and Oroquieta City before being evacuated in a USN warship to Australia.
May 13: President Quezon and his family arrive in Washington, DC, establishing the Philippine government-in-exile.
June 4-7: The United States Navy sinks the four Japanese aircraft carriers, namely the Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and the Hiryu, striking a decisive victory over the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific. Japan goes on the defensive.
June 13: The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) is established for clandestine operations behind Axis lines.
August 7: The US Marines begin the invasion of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
August 17-18: US Marines raid Makin Island in the Gilbert Islands.
August 23: The Battle of Stalingrad begins.
November 8-16: The US begins its invasion of North Africa alongside its European allies, known as Operation Torch.
1943[]
February 2: The Soviets defeat the Germans in Stalingrad.
August 23: Soviets defeat the Germans at the Battle of Kursk.
September 9: Allies commence Operation Avalanche, landing in the town of Salerno as part of the Allied invasion of Italy.
Flag of the Second Philippine Republic (1943-1945).
October 14: The Second Philippine Republic, a Japanese puppet state, is established with Jose P. Laurel as the puppet president.
November 1: US Marines, backed by forces from Australia and New Zealand, invade Bougainville Island.
1944[]
June 6: D-DAY: Allies begin Operation Overlord, landing at beaches in Normandy and dropping paratroopers and gliders at dawn before the amphibious invasion began.
July 21: The US Army and US Marines begin the invasion of Guam, a US territory in the Pacific seized by the Japanese in 1941.
August 1: President Manuel Quezon dies of tuberculosis at age 64 in Lake Saranac, New York. His Vice President, Sergio Osmeña Sr., becomes the President.
August 10: The United States retakes Guam from the Japanese.
August 20: Paris is liberated from the Germans.
September 15: US Marines land in Peleliu Island, facing hard Japanese resistance.
September 17-25: Operation Market Garden is launched by Allied paratroopers in hopes of securing Dutch bridges into the Rhine River. The operation later fails when the Allies were unable to hold Arnhem bridge, ending all hopes of ending World War II by Christmas 1944.
October 20: Accompanied by the US Marines, General Douglas MacArthur and President Osmeña land in Palo, Leyte. This marks the return of American forces to the Philippines.
December 16: The Battle of the Bulge: Allies cross into the Ardennes forest in Belgium, where the Germans desperately mount one last counterattack to delay the Allied advance into Germany.
1945[]
January 1: The Luftwaffe is deemed inoperable after a last ditch effort counterattack.
January 25: Allies cross the Siegfred Line.
February 3: The US and the Philippine Commonwealth Army enter Manila, engaging a house-to-house urban warfare against the Japanese defenders in what is known as the Battle of Manila.
February 19: US Marines invade Iwo Jima.
February 23:Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, an iconic photograph, is taken which symbolizes the Americans taking over the island.
March 3: American and Filipino troops successfully recapture Manila from the Japanese, but the city is heavily damaged from the fighting.
April 1: US Marines begin the invasion of Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands, facing the hardest Japanese resistance in the island hopping campaign of the Pacific Theater.
April 16-19: Soviets break the German defenses at Seelow Heights, the last line of defense before Berlin. The fall of Seelow Heights carves an open path for Soviet soldiers and tanks into the heart of the Nazi capital.
April 20: Soviet forces encircle Berlin on Adolf Hitler's 56th birthday. Hitler makes one last appearance on the surface and hides on the Führerbunker beneath the city. Soviet artillery of the 1st Belorussian Front began shelling Berlin and did not stop until the city surrendered. The weight of ordnance delivered by Soviet artillery during the battle was greater than the total tonnage dropped by Western Allied bombers on the city.
April 30: The Red Army captures the Reichstag. Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide in the Führerbunker one day after they officially married. Karl Dönitz takes over as Führer and continues the war against the Soviets.
May 2: Berlin is completely taken by the Red Army. Raising the Flag over the Reichstag, the iconic Soviet photograph, is taken.
May 7: Germany surrenders to the Allies. Berlin is then partitioned by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union.
June 22: Okinawa falls to American occupation, where it would remain so until 1972. The Allies begin to plan for Operation Downfall, a.k.a the Allied Invasion of the Japan.
July 16: The United States tests its first nuclear weapon, an Atomic bomb (or an A-bomb), in the Trinity Test Site in Alamogordo, New Mexico.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima (right) and Nagasaki (left).
August 6: The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, destroying a large part of the city. The A-bomb was delivered by a B-29 Superfortress called the Enola Gay. This marks the first use of nuclear weapons in warfare.
August 9: The United States drops a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. The Soviet Union declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula, easily defeating meager Japanese resistance that was garrisoned there.
August 15: V-J Day: Japan unconditionally surrenders to the Allies. The Second Philippine Republic is declared dissolved by puppet President Laurel.
September 2: World War II officially ends with the Japanese signing the instrument of surrender aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63) docked in Tokyo Bay. Japan is placed under U.S military occupation. In the Korean Peninsula, the country is divided into North and South at the 38th Parallel, administered by the USSR and the US respectively.
October 15: Residents of Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental hold a referendum to remain a US territorial enclave post-Philippine independence. Turn out goes 85% in favor to be a US territory. Clark and Subic also hold similar referenda to remain a US territory after the independence. (BEFORE THE SECOND POD)
1946 (Second POD)[]
May 26: Manuel Roxas becomes the third and last President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines (and the 4th President of the Philippines).
July 4: The Republic of the Philippines is proclaimed in Quirino Grandstand by President Manuel Roxas, who becomes the first president of the Third Republic. Dumaguete (including Siquijor Island), Clark, and Subic is conceded to the United States. The US and the Philippines agree to keep the presence of US military bases (the ones outside the territorial enclaves) until the year 2047. (SECOND POD)
August 4: The territorial enclave of Dumaguete obtains city-hood status by the US Department of the Interior.
October: The Nuremberg Trials begin.
The Second Phase of the Chinese Civil War begins.
Remaining US territories in the Philippines after 1946:
Clark Freeport Zone
Dumaguete City
Subic-Olongapo Enclave
1947[]
Historians agree that the Cold War between the United States vs. the Soviet Union and their respective allies begin.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is formed as the successor of the OSS.
1948[]
May 14: The State of Israel is declared.
June 24: The Soviet Union blockades Western shipment from entering East Berlin. In what is the first East-West tension of the Cold War known as the Berlin Blockade or the Berlin Airlift, the US and Britain drop supplies by air to the citizens of East Berlin.
August 15: The Republic of Korea (South Korea) is established.
September 9: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK; North Korea) is established.
1949[]
August 29: The USSR tests its first nuclear weapon, RDS-1 (American codename: Joe-1), in Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan.
US forces begin a slow withdrawal from South Korea.
Mao Zedong proclaiming the PRC.
October 1: Communist forces led by Mao Zedong capture Beijing. Mao declares the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and proclaims Beijing (Peking) its capital. Remaining Nationalists led by Chiang Kai-shek retreat south and into the island of Taiwan.
December 7: The Nationalist government officially relocates to Taiwan, proclaiming the Republic of China (ROC) with the capital in Taipei.
US occupation forces in South Korea slowly start withdrawing.
1950s[]
1950[]
Situation in Korea as of June 1950.
May 1: Mao Zedong and the communists emerge victorious in the Chinese Civil War.
June 25: North Korea, under Kim Il-Sung, invades South Korea in an attempt to reunify the peninsula under communist dictatorship, starting the Korean War. Initial US and South Korean defenders are rerouted. The United Nations sends forces to intervened in the conflict.
August 4: The United Nations forces is rerouted to the port city of Pusan.
September 18: The UN, led by the United States under General Douglas MacArthur, lands in Incheon and counterattacks the KPA forces.
November: China sends the People's Volunteer Army to the Korean Peninsula, crossing the Yalu River and pushing the UN forces from Pyongyang back to the 38th Parallel.
1951[]
April: General Douglas MacArthur is relieved by President Harry Truman after the latter suggests the uses of atomic bombs on Manchuria to stem the tide against Chinese forces.
1952[]
October 3: The United Kingdom tests its first nuclear weapon.
1953[]
July 27: The Korean War ends in an armistice. No official peace treaty has been signed and the two Koreans are technically still at a state of war.
1954[]
September 3: The First Taiwan Strait begins.
May 17: Luis Taruc, leader of the Hukbalahap communist rebels, surrenders to the Philippine government.
1955[]
May 1: People's Republic of China seized the Yijiangshan Islands. United States and Republic of China navies evacuate military and civilians from Dachen Islands. Formosa Resolution of 1955 and Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty signed between ROC and United States.
1957[]
March 17: Ramon Magsaysay, 7th President of the Philippines, is killed in a plane crash in Mount Manunggal in the province of Cebu. Carlos P. Garcia, Magsaysay's Vice President, assumed the presidency.
1958[]
August 23-September 22: The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis occurs. The US Navy sends the USS Lexington (CVA-16) aircraft carrier and the USS Marshall (DD-676) to the strait in the defense of the Republic of China. ROC Air Force F-86 Sabers armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles shoot down numerous PLAAF MiG-15s and MiG-18s. This was the first time air-to-air missiles were used in combat.
1959[]
January 1: The 26th of July movement, led by Fidel Castro, seizes power in Cuba and overthrows the Batista regime. A new communist government is formed while seeking an alliance with the Soviet Union.
1960s[]
1960[]
Sino-Soviet split occurs.
February 13: France tests its first nuclear weapon in Algeria.
1961[]
April 17: Cuban exiles in the United States, backed by the CIA and the USAF, invade Cuba in an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro and his communist regime.
April 20: The Bay of Pigs invasion fails.
1962[]
October 16-28: The Cuban Missile Crisis between the US and the USSR over nuclear missiles stationed in Cuba. After 13 days, the Soviet Union withdraws its missiles from Cuba while the United States follows suit by withdrawing their missiles from Italy and Turkey.
1963[]
November 22: President John F. Kennedy is assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas.
1964[]
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident (1964)
August 2: The USS Madox (DD-731) is attacked by three North Vietnamese gunboats in the Gulf of Tonkin, causing to retaliate which resulted in the sinking of the gunboats and increased US involvement in Vietnam.
October 16: The People's Republic of China tests its first nuclear weapon called Project 596 (American codename: Chic-1) in the Lop Nur Nuclear Test Site, Lop Nur, Xinjiang.
1965[]
A Bell UH-1D helicopter from the 1st Air Cavalry Division climbs skyward after discharging a load of US infantrymen on a search and destroy mission.
November 14: The United States sends combat soldiers and marines into Vietnam for the first time. The US Army's 1st Air Cavalry Battalion faces off the Vietnam People's Army (also called the North Vietnamese Army or NVA) in la Drang Valley.
Ferdinand E. Marcos becomes the President of the Philippines.
1966[]
The Philippines send troops to help in the humanitarian effort of South Vietnam.
1968[]
January 30: The NVA and the Vietcong launch the Tet Offensive.
December 25: The New People's Army, the successor the Hukbalahap, is established.
1969[]
March 2: The Sino-Soviet border conflict breaks out between the USSR and the PRC over Zhenbao Island (Russian: Zhamansky Island) on the Ussuri River.
July 20: NASA astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first men to land on the Moon.
September 11: Sino-Soviet border conflict ends with each side returning to pre-war positions.
1970s[]
1970[]
November 25: Yukio Mishima and the Tatenokai attempt a coup d'etat by seizing the Japan Self Defense Force headquarters. The coup fails and Mishima commits seppuku.
1971[]
August 21: The NPA attacks Plaza Miranda in Quaipo, Manila with hand grenades, killing nine people and injuring others.
Siquijor Island
The island of Siquijor, previously administered by the Dumaguete City Enclave, retrocedes to the Philippines and becomes a province.
1972[]
February 21-28: Richard Nixon becomes the first US President to visit the People's Republic of China. Nixon meets with Premier Zhou Enlai and Chairman Mao Zedong, a historic move in U.S.-China relations.
September 21: Ferdinand Marcos declares martial law in the entire Philippines after NPA rebels and their activities start increasing in numbers. Many Filipinos try to seek refuge in the US enclaves in the country, but only 1,000 Filipinos are accepted in between 1972 to 1986.
The US ends its occupation of Okinawa but maintains a Marine and Air Force base on the island.
1974[]
May 18: India tests its first nuclear weapon.
1975[]
April 17: Communists win in Laos and Cambodia.
April 30: Vietnam War ends with Northern victory. The US Embassy in Saigon is evacuated alongside thousands of South Vietnamese refugees by helicopters to several US Navy warships which then sails to Subic Bay in the Philippines.
June 7-11: Ferdinand Marcos and the First Family visit China where they meet with Mao Zedong. The Philippines officially establishes relations with the People's Republic.
1976[]
The Soviet Union and the Philippines establish diplomatic relations.
1978[]
Flag of the People's Republic of Kampuchea.
December 25: After a series of border clashes with the Khmer Rouge, Vietnam invades Cambodia and topples Pol Pot's regime in Phnom Penh. The Vietnamese establish the People's Republic of Kampuchea, essentially a client state, to govern the country. Remaining Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot go into hiding and mount an insurgency against the occupying Vietnamese. The Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK), composed of the former Khmer Rouge, Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF), and FUNCINPEC party, is formed and receives foreign support from China, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
1979[]
January 29: Deng Xiaoping visits President Jimmy Carter in Washington, DC.
February 17: The PLA invades Vietnam as result of the latter's invasion of Cambodia, starting the Sino-Vietnamese War.
March 16: The Sino-Vietnamese War ends with both sides returning to pre-war positions.
The US switches recognition of the PRC over the ROC in the mainland. Nonetheless, Washington maintains unofficial relations with Taiwan and continues the sale of American-made weapons and equipment.
December 25: The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan following a coup in the country. Various mujahideen go into the mountains and mount guerrilla warfare against the Soviets and the government forces of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
1980s[]
1980[]
Cold War situation in 1980.
Jimmy Carter leads the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics after the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan.
1983[]
August 21: Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino is assassinated in Manila International Airport.
September 26: Soviet early warning system mistakenly detects five incoming nuclear missiles from the United States. The officer in-charge, Stanislav Petrov, dismisses it as a false alarm and averts a global nuclear war, saving millions of lives.
November: The Able Archer Exercises commence causing another nuclear war close call.
1986[]
Protesters fill EDSA Avenue during the People Power Revolution.
February 24-26: Ferdinand Marcos flees the Philippines after citizens initiated the People Power Revolution in EDSA Avenue. Marcos is picked up by the US by helicopter where he is taken to American enclave of Clark Freeport Zone before being flown in a C-141 Starlifter to Guam then to Honolulu, Hawaii. Meanwhile, Corazon C. Aquino becomes the first female President.
1987[]
The Republic of the Philippines adopts the 1987 Constitution.
1988[]
March 14: China and Vietnam clash over Johnson South Reef in the South China Sea, resulting in the sinking of the landing crafts/landing ship tanks HQ-505, HQ-604, and HQ-605. 64 Vietnamese are killed while only one Chinese soldier was wounded.
US Army M113 outside Siliman University.
September 26-October 5:1,200 members of the New People's Army occupy the US enclave of Dumaguete City in Negros Island, the first time a US territory was attacked and occupied by a foreign belligerent since World War II. The US amasses the largest show of force in the Philippines not seen since 1944, deploying the nearby stationed Hawaii and Guam National Guard personnel outside Dumaguete, the US Air Force from Clark Freeport Zone, the US Navy's air wing from Wallace Air Station in La Union, the US Marines based from the USS Tarawa (LHA-1), Delta Force, and the US Navy SEALs. The occupation ends after one week, resulting in the death of 25 US soldiers. As part of the the US-RP Mutual Defense Treaty, Filipino forces supported the American forces, suffering 19 deaths.
November: George H W Bush wins the 1988 Presidential Elections.
1989[]
January 20: George H W Bush is inaugurated as the 41st President of the United States.
February: President Bush visits China.
February 15: The Soviet Union withdraws its forces from Afghanistan.
April 15: Chinese students gather around Tiananmen Square, Beijing after the death of Hu Yaobang, a liberal reformer who was deposed after losing a power struggle with hardliners over the direction of political and economic reforms.
April 22: Hu Yaobang's funeral is held.
April 27: Student demonstrations increase after two weeks.
May 20: Premier Li Peng declares martial law throughout Beijing.
June 4: The People's Liberation Army crushes the student-led demonstration in Tiananmen Square.
September 26: The Vietnamese withdraw from Cambodia.
September 27: Ferdinand Marcos, former President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, dies while on exit in Honolulu, Hawaii.
November 9: The Berlin Wall is torn down. East Germans finally cross into West Berlin. The Cold War officially ends.
Philippine Army AIFV in the streets of Metro Manila.
December 1: The Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) and soldiers loyal to former President Ferdinand Marcos led by Colonel Gregorio Honasan, General Edgardo Abenina, and retired General Jose Ma. Zumel; stage a coup d'etat against the government of Corazon Aquino. US forces in the Philippines and the enclave territories are placed on high alert.
December 7: The coup is defeated with aid from the United States. F-4 Phantoms based in Clark Air Base located in the US enclave of Clark Freeport Zone and the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) in Manila Bay deter rebel aircraft from flying.
Date unknown: The designation Major non-NATO ally is created by the Bush administration. Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, and South Korea are the first to be named as such.
Date Unknown (during the 1980s)[]
Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani, future founder of the Abu-Sayaff Group, travels to the Middle East and fights in the Soviet War in Afghanistan. He allegedly meets Osama bin-Laden during his tenure in Afghanistan.
1990s[]
1990[]
July 16: A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Philippine island of Luzon, severely damaging towns and cities (including Baguio City) in the provinces of Benguet, La Union, Pangasinan, Bicol, and Nueva Ecija.
August 2: Iraq invades and occupies Kuwait, starting the Gulf War. Coalition forces led by the United States are deployed in the defense of Saudi Arabia.
1991 (Third POD)[]
January 17-February 28: Operation Dessert Storm, the liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi occupying forces, commences.
Mount Pinatubo eruption seen from Clark Air Base, Clark Freeport Zone.
June 15: Mount Pinatubo erupts in what will be the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century; the final death toll tops 800. The US enclave of Clark Freeport Zone and the Subic-Olongapo Enclave is evacuated. The USS Midway (CV-41) and the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) relocate Americans and the enclaves' residents into the US enclave of Dumaguete and Cebu City before being relocated to Guam.
September 16: The Philippine Senate votes to let the United States maintain its bases in the Philippines outside of its enclave territories. These include Wallace Air Station in La Union, Naval Communications Station San Miguel in San Antonio, Zambales; Mount Santa Rita Naval Link Station in the Zambales mountains; and the US Naval Radio Station in Capas, Tarlac.
Date unknown: The Abu Sayaff Group (ASG) is founded by Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani.
1992[]
Fidel V. Ramos
Fidel V. Ramos wins the elections for Philippine President.
Afghanistan devolves into the next phase of the civil war.
Bill Clinton defeats George H W Bush in the 1992 US Presidential elections.
1993[]
February 27: Terrorists bomb the World Trade Center in New York City, killing six people.
1994[]
Tensions in the Korean peninsula erupt as President Bill Clinton weighs on the decision to bomb the Yongbon nuclear reactor in North Korea. The strike is called off and the 1994 North Korean agreement is signed between the US and the DPRK.
Philippine Air Force recon planes report that the People's Liberation Army-Navy has been building structures in Mischief Reef.
The Taliban rises in Afghanistan's civil war, quickly gaining popularity with the Afghan youth and veterans of the Soviet-Afghan War.
1995[]
January 6: Philippine police arrested al-Qaeda operative Ramzi Yousef and uncovered the Bojinka plot: a plot by al-Qaeda terrorists to fly hijacked airliners in Asia and crash them in major cities and government installations in the United States. Yousef was connected to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
January: Pope John Paul II visits Manila as part of World Youth Day 1995.
Government officials plant the flag of the Philippines in Mischief Reef.
February 15-20:Mischief Reef standoff: After a standoff with Chinese vessels, Philippine Navy warships, the BRP Benguet (LS-507), the BRP Miguel Malvar (PS-19), BRP Quezon (PS-70), CGC 103, and CGC 110, accompanied by the USS Reuben James (FFG-57) and the USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3) destroy the Chinese manmade structures. Beijing protests the action done by the Philippines.
April 23: Domestic terrorists bomb Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and injuring over 680 others.
July 21: The Third Taiwan Strait crisis occurs as China tests ballistic missiles into the straits of Taiwan. The Republic of China deploys MIM-104 Patriot missile batteries, MIM-23 Hawk missile batteries, Northrop F-5, F-CK-1, Lockheed F-104, Knox-class frigates, Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates to defend the island of Taiwan from Chinese threats.
August 3: Taliban-controlled MiG-21s intercept an Airstan Ilyushin Il-76TD transport aircraft, with seven Russian nationals on board, forcing it to land at Taliban-occupied Kandahar International Airport. The men are held for a year.
1996[]
March 15: The Ozone Disco in Quezon City suffers a deadly fire, killing 162 people and injuring 95 others.
March 23: The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis ends with a ceasefire as the United States Navy sends the two aircraft carrier groups: Carrier Group Five and Carrier Group Seven, led by the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and the USS Independence (CVN-62) respectively. Other ships present supporting the carrier groups were the USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3) and the USS Bunker Hill (CG-52). The crisis forced the Chinese leadership in 1996 to acknowledge its inability to stop US forces from coming to Taiwan's assistance.
March 24: The Marcopper Mining disaster occurs in Marinduque Island, making it the worst mining disaster in the Philippines.
June 25: A truck bomb was detonated adjacent to Building #131 of Khobar Tower, an eight-story structure housing members of the United States Air Force's 4404th Wing (Provisional), primarily from a deployed rescue squadron and deployed fighter squadron. In all, 19 US servicemen and a Saudi local were killed and 498 of many nationalities were wounded.
July 4:
The remaining US enclaves celebrate 50 years of concession to the United States.
The Republic of the Philippines celebrates 50 years of independence from the United States.
August 16: The men of Airstan successfully escape from Afghanistan after overpowering their captors they re-possessed their aircraft, flying it to freedom to the United Arab Emirates.
September 2: A permanent peace agreement is signed at the Malacañan Palace between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
September 27: The Taliban captures Kabul and establishes the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Anti-Taliban forces retreat north and form United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, commonly known to media as the Northern Alliance.
November 5: Bill Clinton wins reelection for President.
November 24-25: 8th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit is held in Subic-Olongapo Enclave, the first time a US territory has held such.
Date unknown: The Kingdom of Jordan is designated as a Major non-NATO ally.
1997[]
July 1: Hong Kong is returned back to the People's Republic of China.
July 2: The Asian Financial Crisis affected numerous Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines, as well as South Korea.
Date unknown: New Zealand is designated as a major non-NATO ally.
1998[]
The Philippine Air Force tests the F/A-18 Hornet as a possible replacement for the aging F-5E Tigers.
Argentina is designated as a Major non-NATO ally.
January 8: Ramzi Yousef is sentenced to life in prison for planning the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993.
February 20: Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein negotiates a deal with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, allowing weapons inspectors to return to Baghdad, preventing military action by the United States and Britain.
May 11: Joseph E. Estrada wins the Philippine presidential elections.
May 28: Pakistan tests its first nuclear weapon called Chagai-I in Ras Koh Hills in the Chagai District of Balochistan Province.
May 30: Pakistan tests its second nuclear weapon called Chagai-II.
June 12: The Philippines celebrates its 100th year of independence.
August 7: The bombings of the United States embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, kill 224 people and injure over 4,500; they are linked to terrorist Osama bin-Laden, an exile of Saudi Arabia.
August 20: Operation Infinite Reach is conducted by the US Navy warships and submarines launching cruise missiles at suspected al-Qaeda training camps in Khost Province, Afghanistan and a chemical weapons factory in Khartoum, Sudan. The strikes fail to kill Osama bin-Laden.
1999[]
Alongside the grounded BRP Sierra Madre, the Philippines builds man-made structures on Agyungin Reef (Second Thomas Shoal) to enforce its claims.
December 20: Macau is returned to the People's Republic of China.
December 24-31: Indian Airlines Flight 814 is hijacked by Islamic radicals upon entering Indian airspace from Kathmandu, Nepal. Hijackers ordered the aircraft to be flown to several locations. After touching down in Amritsar, Lahore and Dubai, UAE the hijackers finally forced the aircraft to land in Kandahar, Afghanistan, which at the time was controlled by the Taliban. The hijackers released 27 of 176 passengers in Dubai but fatally stabbed one and wounded several others. The Taliban surrounded the plane and pressured the the Islamists to release the hostages. Due to the lack of diplomatic relations between India and the Islamic Emirate, it became harder to negotiate. India agreed to release three militants – Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Maulana Masood Azhar. This Taliban took this chance to boost their stage on the international community.
December 31: The Panama Canal's sovereignty is returned to Panama.
2000s[]
2000[]
Al Gore, 43rd President of the United States.
October 16: The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Cole (DDG-67) is bombed by a small fiber glass boat while docked in Aden, Yemen, killing 17 American sailors, the two al-Qaeda perpetuators and injuring 39 others.
November 7: Vice President Al Gore defeats George W. Bush in the 2000 US Presidential elections.
2001[]
January 20:
Al Gore becomes the 43rd President of the United States.
In the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo becomes the President after the ouster of Joseph E. Estrada in People Power II.
April 11: Hainan Island Incident occurs. A US Navy EP-3 Poseidon collides with a PLAAF fighter jet, forcing the US plane to land on Hainan Island. The crew was detained for several days before being released alongside their plane. This incident caused a stir between US-China relations and one of the first challenges of the Gore administration.
September 9: Ahmad Shah Massoud (a.k.a. The Lion of Panjir), famous war hero from the Soviet-Afghan War and leader of the Northern Alliance, is assassinated by al-Qaeda suicide bombers posing as Belgian journalists. In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin phones US President Gore and warns him that Massoud's assassination is a precursor for a larger attack.
The Twin Towers burning as seen from New York Harbor on the morning of September 11, 2001.
September 11: A group of al-Qaeda terrorists hijack four American airliners and use in a series of terrorists acts. Two are flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, the third is flown into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the fourth crashing in Shanksville, Pennsylvania after passengers revolted against the hijackers. For the first time in aviation history, all air traffic within American airspace are ordered to either land or are diverted to Canada.
October 7: The US invades of Afghanistan and assists the Northern Alliance to topple the Taliban regime who were suspecting of sheltering Osama bin-Laden.
December 6-17: The US, UK, Germany, and the Northern Alliance battle the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the Tora Bora Mountain Range in Afghanistan during the hunt for Osama bin-Laden. The USAF heavily bombs suspected tunnels and cave systems with bunker buster bombs. Nonetheless, Osama bin-Laden successfully escapes from the coalition.
2002[]
Bahrain is designated as a Major non-NATO ally.
January 15: US Marines and Army Special Forces establish a base in Zamboanga City which is used to jointly coordinate with the AFP in their offensives against the Abu-Sayaff Group.
March 1-18: The US and their coalition allies commence Operation Anaconda in which they successfully drive the Taliban out of Shahi Kot Valley, Paktia Province, Afghanistan.
2003[]
The US under the Al Gore administration and its allies decide not to invade Iraq after no evidence of weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein remains in power but the US and UK secretly support Kurdish rebels in Kurdistan.
The Philippines and Thailand is given the status of a major non-NATO ally.
Similarly, Taiwan (ROC) becomes a de facto major non-NATO ally.
2004[]
Kuwait, Morocco, and Pakistan is given the status of a major non-NATO ally.
June 5: Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States, dies at the age of 93.
November 2: Al Gore is reelected as President of the United States, defeating Republican Mitt Romney.
December 26:
A 9.3 magnitude earthquake strikes off of the coast of Sumatra causing massive tsunamis that destroyed areas in Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, South Africa, Madagascar and Yemen.
International community offers aid and recovery to the affected areas.
2005[]
January 20: Re-inauguration of Al Gore for second term as president.
August 29-31: Hurricane Katrina makes landfall in the southern United States. The city of New Orleans, Louisiana becomes nearly submerged, resulting in the deaths of 1,646 people.
2006[]
February 17: After heavy rains in the preceding ten days, a mudslide occurred on the town of Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte, killing 50 people, but with 958 people still missing the death toll is expected to rise dramatically. The USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54), USS Essex (LHD-2), and the USS Harpers Ferry (LSD-49), along with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and 6,000 personnel from the US Army and Marines in country for regular exercises and the enclaves, are sent to the area to assist in the evacuation and recovery.
2007[]
January 13: 12th ASEAN summit held in Mandaue City, Cebu after being postponed for month due to a tropical typhoon in December 2006.
October 19: An explosion at Glorietta mall in Makati City, NCR kills 11 and injures at least a hundred.
2008[]
June 21: Typhoon Frank makes landfall in the Philippines and sinks the M/V Princess of the Stars of Sibuyan Island. The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), along with stationed warships in the Subic-Olongapo Enclave, is sent to shipwreck to help the the AFP, PCG, and PNP in the recovery of dead bodies from the ship.
Ron Paul, 44th President of the United States.
November 4: Ron Paul (R-Texas) defeats Joe Biden (D-Delaware) in the 2008 US Presidential elections.
2009[]
January 20: Ron Paul is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States.
Early April: Cases of the H1N1 virus, dubbed as the Swine Flu, is reported in Mexico and US border towns before spreading to many cities in the northeastern United States and Canada.
June: H1N1 is declared to be a pandemic by the WHO and CDC.
2010s[]
2010[]
May 10: Gilbert "Gibo" Teodoro wins the 2010 Philippine presidential elections.
August 10: H1N1 pandemic declared over.
December: The Arab Spring begins in the Middle East and North Africa.
2011[]
February 11: Hosni Mubarak is ousted in Egypt.
March 11: A 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the east of Japan, killing 15,840 and leaving another 3926 missing. Tsunami warnings are issued in 50 countries and territories.
March 15: Protests intensify and Syria against Bashar Al-Assad and Iraq against Saddam Hussein.
May 1: Osama bin-Laden is killed by US Navy SEALs in his compound in Abottabad, Pakistan.
2012[]
USGS ShakeMap for the 2012 Visayas earthquake.
February 6: A 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck Tañon Strait in between the islands of Negros and Cebu, killing at least 52 people. The earthquake caused heavy landslides and huge cracks on highways, and violently shook buildings in Cebu, Negros Oriental, and the US enclave of Dumaguete.
April 8-20:Scarborough Shoal standoff between Philippine and US Navy against China's People's Liberation Army-Navy. This is the second standoff between the two countries since the 1995 Mischief Reef standoff.
April 28: The United Nations approved the territorial claim of the Philippines to Benham Plateau (known as Benham Rise), a 13-million hectare undersea landmass off the coast of Aurora Province that possibly rich in mineral deposits.
June 6: The Venus transit of June 6, 2012 was the second and last of two Venus transits of the 21st century, it was witnessed by amateur astronomers and sky watchers throughout the country since the first transit happened on June 8, 2004.
November 6: Ron Paul defeats Howard Dean (D-Vermont) in the 2012 US Presidential elections.
2013[]
January 20: Ron Paul is re-inaugurated as President.
May 13: 2013 midterm elections in the Philippines.
August 16: MV St. Thomas Aquinas collided with MV Sulpicio Express Siete off the coast of Talisay City, Cebu, resulting in 55 deaths. 65 people remain missing.
August 26: Widespread protests against the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam was organized nationwide. Some Filipino communities worldwide also held solidarity protest. The biggest demonstration that was held on this day was the Million People March held in Luneta Park in Manila.
September 9-22: The Moro National Liberation Front and government forces, backed by US Navy SEALs and Delta Force, clash in Zamboanga City, paralyzing economic activity in the city.
The remnants of Loon Church in Loon, Bohol after the earthquake.
October 15: A 7.2 magnitude earthquake strikes the island of Bohol, causing damage to the historical churches in Bohol and Cebu. 144 people are killed.
November 8: Typhoon Haiyan (known in the Philippines as Typhoon Yolanda), the deadliest Philippine typhoon on record, caused catastrophic destruction in the Visayas, particularly on the islands of Samar and Leyte, killing 6,300 people. About 11 million people have been affected by the typhoon with many left homeless. US forces located in Dumaguete, Clark Freeport Zone, and the Subic-Olongapo Enclave are deployed to Leyte, Samar, and northern Cebu to assist in the relief and recovery of the affected area.
Aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban City.
November 11: Operation Damayan is launched by the international community to the Philippines. The USS George Washington (CVN-73) arrives from Yokosuka, Japan, already adding to the amount of American forces in the country. The HMS Daring is deployed to northern Cebu. China deploys the Peace Ark hospital ship, temporarily putting aside territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
2014[]
February-March: Majority of Tacloban City is repaired.
March 8: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappears over the South China Sea with 241 people onboard.
2015[]
August 5: Debris found on Réunion Island is confirmed to be that of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, missing since March 2014.
November 30: The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) is held in Paris, attended by leaders from 147 nations.
2016[]
Marco Rubio, 45th President of the United States.
November 8: Marco Rubio (R-Florida) wins the US Presidential elections against Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont).
November 25: Fidel Castro dies at the age of 90 in Cuba. Cuban exile communities in the United States celebrate upon hearing of the news.
2017[]
January 20: Marco Rubio is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States.
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