The Philippines is building new security partnerships as well as undertaking new maritime strategies to address some of the asymmetries in the maritime space vis-à-vis China.
The intensification of China’s hard-line territorial claims in the East and South China Seas, matched by its unilateral actions, are threatening regional peace and stability.
A Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and the Philippines would be fruitful in not only strengthening the bilateral relations between the two, but also in adding heft to the security architecture of the Indo-Pacific.
The BrahMos deal with the Philippines marks a convergence between India’s Act East and Defence Export policies and adds to its profile as a reliable defence partner in the Indo-Pacific.
This article examines how regime types shape security sector reforms, that are integral to the peace processes in Thailand’s Patani and the Philippines’ Mindanao.
As the need for a modern and capable naval force grows ever more urgent, it remains to be seen if the Philippine Navy’s latest modernisation plans will become a reality or be still-born as was the case with earlier efforts.
Whether the ruling would induce China to adopt a fresh look at the dispute or it would only further complicate the domestic and regional political situations will depend on the domestic, regional and international responses in the coming days and weeks.
While using unexceptionable language, India has actually not supported the Chinese position in the South China Sea and has called upon China to adhere to the limits laid down in the UNCLOS.
