Despite China’s optimism of a “fresh start” with the new government under presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte, an independent think tank said the Philippines should continue challenging Beijing’s expansionism in the West Philippine Sea while at the same time commit to a ‘development diplomacy’ with the Asian power.
The ADR Institute for international Studies and Washington-based partner Center for Strategic and International Studies, raised the issues on the ongoing territorial dispute, including the pending arbitration case over China’s nine-dash line as a major policy decision that the next president must address.
“While Asia recognizes that China has long been an important force for economic prosperity and security in the region, there is resistance when Beijing becomes overzealous in asserting this dominance,” said ADRi president Dindo Manhit.
ADRi trustee and CSIS Southeast Asian Studies chairman Ernie Bower said: “What China’s Asian neighbors want is a China that feels secure, is prosperous economically and actively participates in regional rule-making. What they fear is that China feels it needs to change the rules around security and economic norms that have produced nearly seven decades of economic growth and progress as well as relative peace in the Asia Pacific.”
“This has put China’s neighbors on edge, making them anxious about advancing their economic engagement through increased trade and investment with China. They fear that the deeper those ties extend; the more leverage Beijing may use to force sovereign concessions,” Bower said.
“China will be an influential and positive force for economic prosperity, regional security and peace if it takes time to listen to its neighbors and partners. That is an outcome the rest of the world has a great interest in promoting,” said Bower.
Sustaining the country’s economic partnership with Beijing need not be mutually exclusive with efforts to develop a credible defense posture and should be seen as a complement to the strategic deterrence provided by US forward naval deployment and bilateral alliances in East Asia, Manhit said.
Manhit said it was possible to challenge China’s expansionism while conducting the routine mandates of the foreign service, like helping overseas Filipinos as well as pursuing economic security by promoting trade and investment.
Manhit also recommended recalibrating the Philippine foreign service to include political and economic reporting, trade promotion and negotiation and pushing for the passage of the National Security Act, which will lead to a whole-of-government approach to foreign policy and national defense.
This advocacy is part of the US-Philippines Strategic Initiative jointly launched by ADRi and CSIS in May 2015. The program seeks to strengthen US-Philippine relations communities by seeking alignments in strategic thinking and related policies by educating constituencies in the executive, legislative, policy, business, academic, civil society and media.