A prominent academician has said the next President of the Philippines should “craft a responsive and strategic foreign policy to reverse the losses caused by the flippant policy of the current administration, and strengthen linkages with like-minded states to counter the threat from China and other traditional and non-traditional security challenges.”
Professor Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit, president and CEO of think tank Stratbase ADR Institute, made this suggestion in his paper entitled “A Responsive and Strategic Foreign Policy Outlook in an Interconnected and Multipolar World.”
The research was introduced during a virtual forum, organized in coordination with Bower Group Asia (BGA), held on April 5, 2022 to coincide with the book launch of international policy expert Dr. Prashanth Parameswaran, Deputy Head of Research for BGA.
“The new foreign policy that needs to be crafted needs to prioritize the country’s national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and developmental interests,” Manhit stressed.
“At the same time, as part of an interconnected and networked international society, this more responsive and strategic foreign policy will effectively contribute to ongoing efforts to collectively manage global and regional issues,” he added.
Manhit underscored that “fostering multilateral and strategic partnerships is imperative if the Philippines is to recover from the consequences of the current administration’s foreign policy decisions and be rightly aligned with the growing global alliance advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
These issues, according to him, included matters pertaining to the international political economy, geopolitical shifts, rising inequality, and political instabilities that complicate global risks, he said.
Manhit noted that hese have resulted in a multi-faceted and unpredictable geopolitical backdrop, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.
He acknowledged that the United States, of course, remains a primary ally of the Philippines, and is key to rallying support from the international community to counter China’s continued aggression in disputed waters.
“The defense agreements with the United States must be revisited to ensure maximal inter-operability vis-à-vis new and emerging threats,” Manhit said in his paper.
Manhit recommended the immediate formulation of a new national security strategy based on the July, 12 2016 Arbitral Ruling on the South China Sea dispute and to maintain a firm, consistent and uncompromising position in terms of the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.
He supports the continuity of the 15-year, three-phased Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization program, with greater focus on acquisition of advanced naval, aerial, and strategic defense assets in cooperation with key allies and strategic partners.
Manhit enumerated a number of policy reforms:
Optimize, leverage and upgrade the Philippines’ existing defense agreements with like-minded states and other key regional powers;
Develop a Philippine digitalization strategy and a vigorous cyber defense posture;
Establish a specialized climate security agency and/or advisor to develop targeted strategies, create synergies among relevant agencies, and engage with international funding agencies;
Build up capacity in disease surveillance, data collection and multi-sectoral responses in public health emergencies; and a comprehensive risk assessment and management strategy must be done regularly to inform national policies to deal with major NTS threats, such as natural disasters and pandemic.
At the forum/book launch, Ernest Bower IV, president and CEO of Bower Group Asia, talked about the perceptions of the United States’ – specifically the Biden administration’s – engagement in Southeast Asia.
He pointed to Parameswaran’s analysis of translating ASEAN’s importance to Washington into concrete commitments and actions amid other global commitments.
Dr. Parameswaran’s book is called Elusive Balances: Shaping U.S.-Southeast Asia Strategy.
Parameswaran, who is also a Fellow at The Wilson Center – Asia Program and Senior Columnist for The Diplomat, said the Biden administration is trying to find its own feet with respect to working with allies and partners.
He cited surveys conducted by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, saying that China is seen not only as the number one economic player in Southeast Asia, but also the number one political and strategic player.
Parameswaran characterized the huge foreign policy shift – away from the US and toward China — of the Duterte administration as “interesting.”
“If you have another president like that, that’s really going to be a huge lost series of opportunities for the alliance,” he said.
Meanwhile, James Carouso, Senior Advisor for the Bower Group and Australia Chair for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that this pressure from China because of the South China Sea issue should be an area of greater cooperation between the US and the Philippines.
“This is so we understand the nature of the threat and know what we do about it,” he said.
“It’s only really since World War Two that we have a global order where rules matter and everyone is supposed to abide by the rules, and smaller countries could feel some assurance that there wouldn’t be these actors outside the norm,” Carouso said.