Philippines strengthens defence partnerships amid South China Sea tensions

Taipei [Taiwan], February 15 (ANI): The Philippines is stepping up efforts to strengthen its defence partnerships as tensions with China persist in the South China Sea. Manila is working to finalise defence agreements with Canada and New Zealand while also looking to expand joint military drills with the United States, its main defence ally, Voice of America (VOA) reported.
Analysts see these moves as part of a broader effort to push back against China's assertive maritime activities, particularly near disputed reefs that Beijing claims as its own. China insists on sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, bringing it into repeated clashes with the Philippines and other nations with competing claims.
"The Philippines is trying to boost their capabilities to sufficiently deter China by putting a lot of emphasis on the Mutual Defence Treaty with the United States while broadening the net of cooperation to other like-minded democracies," said Collin Koh, a maritime security expert at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr described the defence pacts with Canada and New Zealand as part of Manila's efforts to "build and strengthen" alliances with like-minded countries.
"The status of visiting forces agreement with New Zealand is an important part of... both countries' and multilateral countries' initiatives to resist China's unilateral narrative to change international law," he told journalists on the sideline of an event on February 6.
Meanwhile, the Canadian ambassador to the Philippines, David Hartman, said at a press event on February 7 that the visiting forces agreement would enable Canada to "have even more substantive participation in joint and multilateral training exercises and operations with the Philippines and allies" in the Indo-Pacific region.
Some Philippine analysts describe the signing of these agreements as part of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's broader strategy to adjust the country's long-term defence priorities.
As China continues to challenge territorial claims across the Pacific, "the Philippines' efforts to consolidate more agreements with allies fits Manila's need to defend its maritime territories and safeguard the freedom of navigation in the region," said Joshua Espena, a resident fellow at the Philippine-based International Development and Security Cooperation, reported VOA.
Since about one-third of global trade passes through the South China Sea, Koh said other democratic countries see stronger defence ties with the Philippines as a way to protect their strategic and economic interests in the Indo-Pacific. While these agreements may not fundamentally alter China's actions in the region, he noted, "it is still a concern for China when you have so many partners being militarily involved with Manila."
Alongside these diplomatic efforts, the Philippines is working to deepen its military cooperation with the United States. During a call on Tuesday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr and US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown discussed "military modernisation initiatives, Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement sites and increasing the scope and capacity of joint exercises in the Philippines," according to US Joint Staff Spokesperson Navy Capt. Jereal Dorsey.
In addition to negotiations, Manila has been conducting a series of joint drills with the US and Canada since last week. China has criticised these exercises, arguing they undermine "peace and stability in the South China Sea."
With global attention focused on potential shifts in US foreign policy under President Donald Trump, some experts believe Washington's defence commitments to the Philippines will remain strong.
"The people [that] the Trump administration has put into key security roles are mostly China hawks, so they see the China threat as being very real, and the Philippines remains on the front line [of that threat,]" said Raymond Powell, director of Stanford University's Sealight project, which tracks Chinese maritime activity.
He added that Manila "may have one of the strongest arguments" for securing US support in the Indo-Pacific, stating that "they are on the front line," VOA reported.
As the Philippines strengthens its defence partnerships, China has issued warnings about the growing military cooperation between Manila and its allies.
"China will not sit idly by when its security interests are harmed or threatened," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a regular press conference on Wednesday. (ANI)