But what interests have the USIP, the US military, and the other US government agencies been advancing? Analysts have advanced two possibilities. The US is now supporting moves toward the creation of a more autonomous - or even an independent - pro-US Bangsamoro state as a hedge against a more pro-China Philippines. Or the United States has only been manipulating the peace talks to deliberately foment and prolong conflict between Filipinos and Moros in order to justify its sustained intervention in Mindanao. Both assume common underlying geostrategic objectives: access to natural resources, including potential oil reserves, as well as military basing.