Sustaining the U.S.-Philippines-Japan Triad
Picture: Alexi J. Rosenfeld, Mandel Ngan/AFP, and Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images
In an analytical brief by Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Gregory B. Poling and Japhet Quitzon examine China’s escalating aggression in the South China Sea and posture toward Taiwan.
Disinformation and pro-China narratives circulating on Philippine airwaves and cyberspace exacerbate the issue and threaten to disrupt a national effort to prepare the country against a contingency in the South China Sea. These information operations promoting pro-China content are rampant throughout cyberspace, downplaying aggressive Chinese behavior and placing the blame instead on the United States or even the Philippine Coast Guard. Though regular updates and messaging from the Philippine Coast Guard under the current government have played a positive role in informing the public, stakeholders have raised concerns about the staying power of that messaging campaign, as senior officers and government officials inevitably change positions. With no codified script or guidelines for this messaging campaign, it is unclear whether such counter-disinformation tactics have the institutional support to continue for the long term. Japanese government messaging about Chinese patrols in the territorial sea around the Senkakus, as well as its aerial incursions into Japan’s air defense identification zone, is instructive. Tokyo has been remarkably consistent in documenting and publicizing both for more than a decade.
The United States, Japan, and the Philippines should urgently strengthen their partnerships with each other, reinforce the importance of cooperation, and assess the role their alliances can play in ensuring regional security. Most importantly, Japan and the Philippines should routinize convening with each other and further develop their bilateral security relationship. With increased tensions across the region, the three countries need a coherent and coordinated plan of action in the event of maritime or Taiwan contingencies.
