By Julio Amador III
Responding to rising tensions, Manila has been boosting ties with other regional players.
Tensions are growing in East Asia, driven in large part by the continued rise of China and its bid for regional primacy. In particular, Beijing’s claims to “indisputable sovereignty” over the South China Sea – and its efforts to enforce those claims – have created concerns as to exactly what kind of power it wants to wield. China’s territorial dispute with the Philippines has been one of the most vehement, with the smaller country challenging Beijing’s sweeping territorial and maritime claims, popularly known as the nine-dashed line.
While Manila has brought its case before an Arbitral Tribunal (PDF) under Annex VII of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, it is pursuing other avenues to defend its interests. The Philippines has initiated strategic partnerships with Japan and Australia that seek to elevate bilateral ties that prioritize security cooperation. These partnerships are comprehensive: economic, political, and socio-cultural. With the elevation of bilateral relations to a strategic level, Manila expects closer cooperation especially in military and maritime matters.
These initiatives indicate the willingness of the Philippines to expand its current bilateral and multilateral relations and deepen its ties with like-minded states, although date, only Japan has agreed to a partnership. The Philippines seeks to complement its multilateral relations in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its mutual defense treaty with the U.S. with other robust bilateral cooperation to enhance its position in East Asia.
Read the full 2 page story at The Diplomat