“Many expected Marcos to return to the Philippines’ traditionally close ties with the U.S.,” said Gregory Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Program on the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. “But he has gone much further, undertaking a generational modernization of the alliance to defend against Chinese aggression.”
Marcos’s outspoken opposition to China, highlighted by his efforts to publicize the confrontation between the 2 countries within the South China Sea, has made him something of a star among the many United States and its allies.
“You know, I feel it in Washington,” said Romualdez, where he lives. “He is truly the most wanted leader around the world and in the United States today,” the envoy said.
Biden’s May 2022 phone call with Marcos was quickly followed by visits from high-profile U.S. secretaries of state and defense as his administration made it a priority to revitalize long-standing alliances to compete with China. Biden met with Marcos on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September this yr, and two months later his vp was in Manila.
Duterte has largely ignored a 2016 ruling by a U.N.-backed tribunal that found China’s expansive claims illegal, in search of as an alternative higher relations with Beijing – a position Marcos appeared to endorse on the campaign trail.
But after taking office, Marcos reversed course, repeatedly citing the 2016 ruling and blaming Beijing for increasing tensions. China claims much of the South China Sea, has built military facilities in reclaimed disputed areas and conducted large military exercises near Taiwan.
“We did not start any conflict. We did not incite any confrontation,” Marcos said in March. He said that for the reason that threat from China has increased, “we must do more to defend our territory.”
But all the pieces modified a couple of weeks later. During Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit, the Pentagon announced it had provided access to 4 additional bases within the Philippines, reviving its decades-long military ties.
“Beijing saw this as encouraging the United States to interfere in the situation in Taiwan on location grounds,” said Ngeow Chow Bing, director of the Institute of China Studies on the University of Malaya. “It was very difficult for Beijing to feel that the Marcos government had good intentions.”
Beijing sees Taiwan as a part of China that must be unified by force if essential. Although many countries, including the United States, don’t officially recognize Taiwan as an independent state, they oppose any use of force to alter the prevailing establishment.
China has repeatedly warned the Philippines against involving “external forces” within the dispute, while maintaining that its actions at sea are reasonable and skilled.
Manila hopes to make use of the strengthened military relationship to draw more U.S. investment and diversify its business from China, its predominant trading partner.
The United States recently pledged $1 billion in technology and energy investments. Also under discussion is a deal to extend the Philippines’ role within the nickel supply chain to curb China’s dominance. The United States and Japan also committed to constructing railways, ports and aspects within the so-called “economic corridor” on the predominant island of the Philippines.
“Our alliance with the United States has become stronger because of our economic engagements,” Marcos said last month during his fourth trip to the United States in two years.
Marcos sought to make use of the clashes within the South China Sea to his advantage, inviting media from around the globe to find out about China’s actions. According to Chong Ja Ian, professor of political science on the National University of Singapore, this strategy shows some signs of paying off.
“As a result of the Philippines’ efforts, some of the PRC’s maritime behavior may have become more cautious and restrained,” he said, using an acronym for China. “This suggests that amid friction and deepening differences, even Beijing wants to be able to manage escalation and is acting more carefully than it otherwise might.”
