By Anil Kumar
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III met President Barack Obama (6-9 June 2012) in the Oval Office for the first time. His visit is seen as an important step towards the revival of defence and security cooperation between the US and its former colony. The visit has raised a few questions. What kind of military cooperation does President Aquino want? On what terms is the US ready to extend that cooperation? Finally, how does it affect regional security?
The visit comes in the wake of China hardening its territorial claims in the East and South China Seas. There is a fundamental shift in China’s foreign and security policies in Southeast Asia. It is no more about reassuring its immediate neighbours of its ‘peaceful rise/development’. Post 2008, with the successful completion of the Beijing Olympics and growing economic dependence on China by the West after the global economic slowdown, there is a spurt of nationalistic fervour in China which has started calling for a bold and assertive foreign policy. This new policy approach explains China’s recent territorial claims against Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines in its neighbouring waters.
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