Flurry of diplomatic engagements brings Philippines-US ties back to 'normal' — analysts
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has seen a flurry of diplomatic engagements — from high-level visits to the biggest Balikatan exercises yet — with the United States in the close to a year since President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. assumed office.
Although the president has rejected suggestions that reengagement with the US is a policy shift from the friendliness with Beijing championed by the previous Duterte administration, analysts note that the country’s relationship with its treaty ally and former colonizer has “normalized” following tough times.
“The alliance appears to have returned to normalcy, given the high-level exchanges between US and Philippine officials that culminated in the recent visit of President Marcos to the White House,” Mark Manantan, director of cybersecurity and critical technologies at the Pacific Forum International, told Philstar.com in a WhatsApp message.
“But it appears that the Philippines is no longer just interested on the security assurances of the US under the alliance... equally important is the interest in the economic role that the US could play.”
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Marcos Jr. wrapped up a visit to Washington in early May, where he and US President Joe Biden released the Bilateral Defense Guidelines detailing priorities in the countries' security partnerships.
Among the priorities are improving interoperability and inter-agency collaboration, and more support for upgrades to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Backlog from previous presidency
Greg Winger, professor at the University of Cincinnati’s School of International and Public Affairs, said in an interview over Zoom that the busy calendars for both countries show “there’s a backlog of things that probably should have happened a couple of years ago that either have been slow-played, delayed [and] are now happening at once.”
The previous administration implemented a foreign policy shift to Beijing as Manila pursued its renewed economic goals.
Don McLain Gill, director for South and Southeast Asia at the Philippine-Middle East Studies Association, emphasized that the US-Philippine alliance continued to be an essential component of the country's foreign and security policy. Gill also acknowledged that China had greater flexibility in its dealings with the Philippines during Duterte's presidency.
“In fact, on an objective and practical level, the Philippines-China ties gained little in terms of economic and development cooperation in those six years,” Gill told Philstar.com in an e-mail, adding that under Marcos Jr. — “there is a more overt acknowledgment of China’s direct provocations on Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights.”
RELATED: No disengagement with China – President Marcos
Gill notes that the alliance — which includes intelligence sharing, cyber defense, and sterner statements on the West Philippine Sea — should evolve based on current threats both countries are facing.
Interplay of alliances
While the Philippines and the US mended fences, other coalitions like the AUKUS — Australia, the United Kingdom and the US — have also been consolidating in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Philippines has expressed its support for AUKUS, following Canberra’s announcement that it will be procuring nuclear-powered submarines as it builds up its own military.
READ: Amid defense revamp, Australia keen on helping Philippines with maritime security
The Philippines is not a party to any existing regional groups such as AUKUS or the Quad — which includes Australia, India, Japan and the US. Manantan warned that Manila “should remain pragmatic and prudent towards involving itself in such initiatives...given questions of capacity and capability.”
The Philippines, along with the US, is aiming to pursue separate “trilateral modes of cooperation” with the Australia and with Japan.
Gill, who lectures on international studies at De La Salle University, pointed out that India could potentially play a significant role in reshaping Manila's defense framework.
“[It is] perhaps the only democratic Asian power that can stand up to China's belligerence, India's role in the evolving geopolitical architecture of the region is crucial,” Gill said.
He added that the Philippines remains a “key component” of any Indo-Pacific strategy — a fact that Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly highlighted in May — at a time of increased geopolitical competition between the US and China.
“It’s a central and front-line state in that competition — that’s unavoidable in terms of access and proximity to Taiwan, in terms of the West Philippine Sea, in terms of the [US-Philippine] alliance itself — and so everything is happening through the alliance is a microcosm of what’s happening in the world,” Winger said.
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