China coast guard vessel, photo by: Wikimedia Commons
What is happening?
Amid China’s growing aggressiveness in the South China Sea, Manila is seeking to beef up its defense partnerships with allies and regional partners also affected by the mounting threats Beijing poses. At the beginning of October, the Philippines organized the “Sama Sama” naval drills—high-intensity exercises off the coast of northern Luzon Island facing Taiwan, focusing on anti-submarine, anti-surface, and anti-air warfare. Additionally, on October 7, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced they would elevate the ties between Manila and Seoul to a strategic partnership and signed an agreement on coastguard cooperation. Lastly, it is important to recall that in August, Japan and the Philippines agreed to advance defense and military relations and deepen security collaboration under the framework of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA). Consequently, as the China threat grows, Manila is seeking to sail on the treacherous waters with its trusted friends.
What is the broader picture?
Named after the Tagalog term for “togetherness,” the “Sama Sama” exercises involved personnel from Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States. This broad geographical representation among the participating sailors demonstrates the salience of maritime threats in the Indo-Pacific region, mainly posed by China. This year witnessed the second iteration of the exercise, which was first launched in 2023, hosted by the Philippine Navy.
It is evident that Manila seeks to expand its security and defense cooperation with various actors. Beyond joined exercises and capacity building, there is also a clear commercial dimension to these outreach efforts. Over the next decade, the Philippines is slated to spend over 35 billion USD on military modernization. While President Marcos Jr. is likely to remain on the lookout for big-ticket procurements, a clear synergy emerges with the economic objectives of the Republic of Korea. Under the Yoon presidency, the defense industry became of the core pillars of economic development, positioning South Korea as one of the world’s largest arms exporters. This points to the multifaceted nature of newly emerging security cooperation frameworks within the region.
Why does it matter?
Overall, these developments point to the realization in Manila that the country remains highly vulnerable to regional security threats, a dynamic to which the Marcos Jr. administration seeks to respond through new multilateral arrangements. In the Indo-Pacific region, U.S. allies are increasingly collaborating among themselves instead of relying exclusively on bilateral security and defense cooperation with Washington. This is a particularly timely observation in anticipation of the U.S. presidential elections on November 5. During his first presidential term, Donald Trump – who hopes to return to the White House – implemented policies that effectively marked an inward turn of US policy and undermined Washington’s reliability as a security guarantor. With the uncertain outcome of the upcoming elections, we are seeing a growing momentum among the Indo-Pacific countries to diversify their security partnerships in a way which would mitigate the risks stemming from volatility in domestic US politics.
