Will the Respective Wishes of the US and the Philippines Come True at the South China Sea?

With the Huangyan Island incident yet to subside, politicians in the Philippines have not only failed to exercise restraint, but have also raised their tone of voice. The president of the Philippines has even invited the United States to deploy reconnaissance aircraft in the South China Sea, and a senator went so far as to suggest that the U.S. should station troops at Huangyan Island to act as “the police” in monitoring regional military actions.

Since 2010, the Philippines has been playing the role of “the vanguard” in the competition for the sovereignty of the South China Sea. In addition to the incessant “power display” on the issue of the South China Sea and the directed strengthening of the nation’s military forces, the Philippines has also been actively soliciting extraterritorial forces, including the U.S., to get involved in the dispute.

Last year, the Philippines advocated for the South China Sea issue by incorporating the United States’ interests. It recommended that the U.S. deploy military forces in the South China Sea in the interest of protecting the rights of weaker nations in the region and helping resolve regional disputes. Despite strong opposition from China, the Philippines joined together with the U.S. in an effort to incorporate the South China Sea into the East Asia Summit’s agenda. Since the Huangyan Incident of this year, the Philippines’ closeness with the U.S. has grown more apparent. The president of the Philippines has paid a high-profile visit to the U.S., and there has been a “two plus two” meeting with Filipino and U.S. foreign ministers and defense ministers. The U.S. and the Philippines have already conducted two joint military exercises this year.

From the United States’ perspective, the U.S. has already made its “Asia-Pacific rebalancing” strategy apparent, with objectives based on “normalizing” China and reshaping the Asia-Pacific order, as well as striving for the American strategic advantage and ownership in the Asia-Pacific region. “Rebalancing” includes strengthening military relations with allies as well as the capacity for military intervention. While the U.S. has expressed approval of a diplomatic solution on the topic of the South China Sea, in actuality it has continued to expand and deepen “military cooperation” with nations in the South China Sea region, including the Philippines.

After the American-Filipino presidential talks, the White House issued a statement saying that the U.S. will facilitate the elevation of the Philippines’ military aptitude through increases in joint military exercises, training projects and other efforts to establish a “minimum credible defense capacity.” At the completion of the two plus two talks, both parties expressed desires to cooperatively expand the Philippines’ defense capacity building. The United States reiterated commitments made to the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, freedom of sea navigation and regional security, and pledged a second warship to the Philippines.

The danger signals explained above have seriously interfered with the peaceful settlement of the South China Sea issue and negatively affected the stability of the region. At the same time, we can see that the Philippines has demanded that the U.S take explicit sides, even though military intervention in the South China Sea issue is constrained by a multitude of factors, thereby making it difficult for the U.S. and the Philippines to “hit it off” right away.