Let be honest with ourselves here. The Japanese will never be independent unless they re-militarized and kick out the USA. This is working to our favor if we play our hand correctly.
Philippine is an insignificant country that are not on our chess board. Vietnam, historically, is a country that will not accept foreign power on their land so we already have a working chess piece that will keep USA out. Korea is technically a lukewarm country but very nationalist on the inside. Due to strong historical link and tie, Korea is still under our strategic thinking. The rest of Southeast Asia is a pacifist state and involve in a Non-Alliance Movement. Whether we play nice or not, they will continue to stay neutral due to fear of retaliation from both USA/China. They are using USA to counter us, and we are using them to broader our global influence. In the end, our foreign power influence will continue to grow at a pace that we enjoy. Our passive-aggressive foreign policy is playing perfectly into our favorite. Our strategy reminds me of Uncle Sam's founding father, George Washington... "stay neutral in foreign war, improve infrastructure, open up western lands, promote economic activities, reduce regional tension, and promote the spirit of nationalism." Does that ring a bell here, hello?