The Transformation of the U.S.-Philippines Alliance

Assistant Secretary of Defense Ely Ratner told an audience at the American Enterprise Institute in December that “2023 is likely to stand as the most transformative year in US force posture in the [Indo-Pacific] region in a generation.” Last month, that transformation seemingly began with the announcement that Japan will host the first forward-deployed Marine Littoral Regiment, part of a much larger process of alliance modernization between Washington and Tokyo. Well, the U.S.-Philippines alliance has been undergoing a historic process of modernization as well. And overnight, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Philippine counterpart Carlito Galvez Jr. announced the next step in U.S. regional force posture following meetings in Manila. U.S. forces will gain access to four additional Philippine military bases under a major expansion to the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

Writing for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Gregory Poling provides an overall summary of the history of the U.S.-Philippines alliance since the Cold War into the present. While there was a period of uncertainty through the 90s and Duterte’s presidency, both countries have taken recent steps to explicitly solidify their cooperation, particularly in the expansion of military bases and joint exercises.

Arguing that China has infringed on the interests of the Philippines, Poling highlights the emerging network of powers including Japan and Australia as an important resource for the country in the emerging multipolar world order.