MacArthur is shocked to learn that the Philippines had been abandoned by the United States to its fate
On 4 February 1942, the submarine Trout arrived at Corregidor to transfer Philippine Treasury gold to a safe place and evacuate Lieutenant Colonel Warren J. Clear, an intelligence officer. Before departing, Clear revealed to MacArthur that the Arcadia Conferences, held in Washington between 22 December 1941 and 14 January 1942, and involving the chiefs of staff of the United States and Britain, had produced agreement between the United States and Britain "that only the minimum of force necessary for the safeguarding of vital interests in other theaters should be diverted from the operations against Germany". In a study that the US Army planners had produced on 3 January 1942, they demonstrated that MacArthur's plan for reinforcement of the Philippines from Australia was impractical while the Japanese ruled the seas in the western Pacific. The Army planners described MacArthur's plan as "an entirely unjustifiable diversion of forces from the principal theater - the Atlantic".
After his escape to Australia, Macarthur is pictured with his chief of staff Major General Richard Sutherland.
MacArthur was deeply shocked to learn that he and his command had effectively been abandoned to the Japanese by President Roosevelt. President Quezon was enraged by the news, and sent a cable to Roosevelt requesting immediate independence for the Philippines so that his government could negotiate a state of neutrality with the Japanese. Despite his bombastic press releases that had proclaimed his intention to defend the Philippines to the last man, MacArthur gave substantial support to Quezon's request. Roosevelt was appalled by the proposal and rejected immediate independence. With the intention of shaming the Philippine president, Roosevelt indicated willingness to allow Quezon to surrender the Filipino troops if they had no stomach to continue fighting and leave the Americans to fight the Japanese alone. As expected, Quezon was shamed by the offer and declared his willingness to fight beside the American troops to the end. See: Richard Connaughton, "MacArthur and Defeat in the Philippines", (2001) at pages 260-265.
