Philippine Soldiers Kidnapped.

via the Washington Post.

MANILA, Philippines — Communist rebels posing as government troops have abducted five Philippine army soldiers on the outskirts of a southern city, the military said Tuesday.
New People’s Army guerrillas wearing military uniforms stopped the soldiers aboard two motorcycles at a road block late Monday outside Davao city, said local army spokesman Capt. Raul Villegas.
The soldiers in civilian attire were unarmed and on their way to the market to buy supplies for a community feeding program, Villegas said.
The group’s team leader sensed that the gunmen manning the road block weren’t soldiers and jumped off the motorcycle and leapt into a ravine to escape, leaving his five comrades behind, he said.
The rebels usually release captured soldiers after determining they were not involved in human rights violations and other abuses. Arrangements are made with local officials, who coordinate a limited cease-fire with the military to allow the safe return of the captives to government representatives.
The rebels have been fighting in one of Asia’s longest-running insurgencies. Talks to end the uprising have stalled for nearly two years due to disagreements between the two sides over the release of several jailed rebel leaders.

Another of those long running insurgencies that many don't know about. Everyone talks about the US performing partnership missions with all these nations in the Pacific but I can actually see US participation as being problemsome.

For example.  What happens if US Soldiers are kidnapped while in the Philippines?  SOCOM will be tasked with a mission to recover them and would likely succeed.

The fallout?  Cheers in the US and an escalation in the violence in the Philippines.  Where once you had a low scale insurgency you suddenly have full scale warfare.

This country and the whole Pacific bears watching.