2/12/2018 Convergence, Opportunities, Challenges: Implications Of US National Defense Strategy For Philippines – Analysis – Eurasia Review

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 February 12, 2018  Shiwen Yap* 

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US President Donald J. Trump participates in a bilateral meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte at
A partnership between the Japan
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Implications Of US National Defense Strategy
Government,
International And
For Philippines – Analysis
Local Investors – OpEd  January 27, 2018  Mico A. Galang*  0 Comments

 February 12, 2018  0

By Mico A. Galang*
Irrational
On January 19, 2018, the United States (US) released the summary of the classi ed National
Decisions: A
Re ection On Defense Strategy (NDS). Speaking at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies,
Plight Of Defense Secretary James Mattis noted that the NDS was framed within National Security Strategy
Palestinians – (NSS) issued by President Donald Trump in December 2017. As stressed by Secretary Mattis, the
OpEd
document is designed to “protect America’s vital national interests” as well promoting “peace
 February 12, 2018  1
through strength.” Noting that the US military has entered into an “era of strategic purpose,” the
Pentagon chief further argued that Washington is “alert to the realities of a changing world and
ASEAN Digital Economy: A New
Pillar? – Analysis attentive to protect [American] values and the countries that stand with us.”
 February 12, 2018  0

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2/12/2018 Convergence, Opportunities, Challenges: Implications Of US National Defense Strategy For Philippines – Analysis – Eurasia Review

But what does the summary NDS (SNDS)

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 February 12, 2018

 0
Such dynamics are evident in today’s regional security environment and in the threat
perceptions of both the US and the Philippines. After World War II, the US led the creation of an
international order through which it exercised its preeminence, speci cally in the areas of
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economic, diplomatic, and military a airs. However, the US-led international system is currently
under strain spawned largely by shifts in the geopolitical balance. Hence, in the SNDS,
Turkey's Extending Emergency Washington declared that America’s primary national security concern is not terrorism but
rather inter-state strategic competition.

Egypt Versus The New York …
Taking its cue from Trump’s NSS, the SNDS identi ed China as one of the “revisionist powers.”
Beijing, according to the SNDS, is pursuing modernization of its armed forces, “predatory
economics,” as well as the militarization of the South China Sea (SCS), among others, to “reorder
the Indo-Paci c region to [its] advantage.” The long-term objective is the “displacement of the
[US] to achieve global preeminence in the future.” Indeed, China’s strategy to dominate First and
Second Chains largely through Anti-Access/Area-Denial (A2/AD) are manifestations of its
strategic intentions. As such, the SNDS’s objective is to “ensure [that] the balance of power
remain in [America’s] favor.”

America’s Southeast Asian ally appears to have similar perception of the regional security
environment. Notwithstanding Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s rather unconventional
foreign policy rhetoric, Manila’s National Security Policy (NSP) likewise also identi ed
“geopolitical rivalries among the great powers” as one of the major issues facing the region.
The Kurds Under Attack
Given the growing complexity of regional security challenges, Duterte’s NSP described US
presence in the Indo-Asia-Paci c as a “stabilizing force.”

Moreover, the NSP underscored that the “rise of China [has generated] policy concerns” across
the region because of its growing economic clout as well as its claims in the SCS. Despite
Duterte’s diplomatic initiatives to repair relations with China, the NSP emphasized that the SCS
“remains to be the foremost security challenge to the Philippines’ sovereignty and territorial

Damming The Nile: Egypt, Su… integrity.” Rea rming Manila’s victory in the Philippines v China case, the NSP further declared
that “China’s ‘nine-dash-line’ claim is invalid.”

Opportunities
The SNDS provides an opportunity to improve overall Philippines-US bilateral relations. Ties
between the allies experienced some challenges early in Duterte’s tenure, largely over the issue

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2/12/2018 Convergence, Opportunities, Challenges: Implications Of US National Defense Strategy For Philippines – Analysis – Eurasia Review
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https://www.eurasiareview.com/27012018-convergence-opportunities-challenges-implications-of-us-national-defense-strategy-for-philippines-analysis/
of human rights and Philippine leader’s
campaign against illegal drugs. However,
circumstances changed following the
inauguration of the new US administration.
Rea rming President Trump’s
pronouncement in his inaugural address, the
SNDS declared that America “will not seek to
impose [its] way of life by force.” Signs of
improvement were evident during the
Duterte-Trump bilateral meeting at the
sidelines of the ASEAN summits in
November 2017 where the two leaders
rea rmed their commitment to their treaty
alliance.
Strengthening alliances and expanding partnerships are among the key pillars of Washington’s
strategic approach in achieving the objectives outlined in the SNDS. Speci cally, the SNDS calls
for “accelerating foreign partner modernization”—a pronouncement which may give further
diplomatic boost to the implementation of the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement
(EDCA), the objectives of which include “addressing short-term capability gaps” and “promoting
long-term modernization” of the Armed Forces of Philippines (AFP).
Mindful of the importance of US-led network of alliances and strategic partnerships in power
projection, the SNDS may also provide an opportunity in complementing what one scholar called
as Manila’s “policy of linking spokes together,” i.e. forging security agreements with other
Washington treaty allies in the region. The US has earlier welcomed such cooperation in order to
enhance Washington’s hub-and-spokes network of alliances. Cognizant of the Trump
administration’s call for burden sharing, similar initiatives would also complement the US and its
allies’ strategic objective of maintaining a favorable balance of power.
Challenges
While the SNDS presents opportunities, it may also pose challenges for Manila. Although
situated in a strategic geographic location, the Philippines is arguably the weakest country in the
US-led network of alliances and partnerships. Beset with various political and socio-economic
challenges, successive Philippine administrations have grappled with internal security challenges
from communist insurgency to a secessionist movement in Mindanao. The recent 2017 incident
in Marawi, which prompted the Duterte government to declare martial law in the entire
Mindanao, manifests the country’s security vulnerabilities. Although there have been e orts to
shift the AFP’s focus to external defense, internal security problems have largely constrained
such initiatives. Clearly, promoting interoperability—as noted in the SNDS—between the
Philippines, with a relatively weak armed forces, and the US is challenging, especially against the
backdrop of China’s growing naval and air power capabilities. This problem is also relevant in the
context of Beijing’s utilization of gray zone coercion in the SCS, which the SNDS alludes to as
“challenges below the level of armed con ict.”
The SNDS identi ed multilateral organizations as platforms for defense and security
“collaboration and partnership.” In the Indo-Asia-Paci c region such organizations include the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in particular the ASEAN Defense Ministers’
Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus). However, as I have argued elsewhere, the e orts of ASEAN-led
mechanisms in addressing traditional security are often constrained by varying interests of ten
members-states and their relations with the great powers.
Conclusion
3/5
2/12/2018 Convergence, Opportunities, Challenges: Implications Of US National Defense Strategy For Philippines – Analysis – Eurasia Review

It is apparent that the strategic interests of Manila and Washington have similarities in the
context of the changing dynamics of great power politics. The impact of the strategic
competition is evident in various areas, such as the SCS. Indeed, the allies rea rmed their
commitment to uphold freedom of navigation and over- ight in SCS in their December 2017
Bilateral Strategic Dialogue. In this regard, the SNDS, while posing some challenges, provides an
opportunity for Manila in enhancing Philippines-US security relations, since the strategy
document envisioned Washington’s alliances and partnerships “into an extended network
capable of deterring or decisively acting to meet the shared challenges” of the region.

*Mico A. Galang is a researcher at the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP). The
views expressed are the author’s alone and do not necessarily re ect the o cial position of
NDCP.

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