Trump’s bearhug for the Philippines
The Interpreter, Lowy Institute
“The second Trump administration’s empathetic approach to the Philippines, however, has come with a catch. As the Pentagon’s top strategist Elbridge Colby told me prior to his return to service, frontline allies like the Philippines will have to forego any strategic hedging in favour of full-fledged alignment with America, especially on the China question. Eager to maintain its room for manoeuvre, the Marcos administration initially sent mixed signals, most notably on the brewing conflict over neighbouring Taiwan. The Philippines also wavered on sensitive infrastructure projects, including a proposed new port facility to be built by the Pentagon in the northernmost Philippine province of Batanes, which is only 160 kilometres from Taiwan’s southern shores.”
“Over the past year, however, the Philippines has increasingly embraced a more active Taiwan strategy, since, as one influential Filipino naval strategist put it, ‘[I]f we lose Taiwan, then China becomes our neighbour. And our [entire] northern territories will be under threat.’ Accordingly, the Philippines has expanded its own naval facility near Taiwan, welcomed joint drills with the United States near the Bashi Channel, and is hosting advanced US military hardware such as the Typhon missile system. Most recently, the Philippines has also expressed openness to hosting more forward-deployed US presence, including a new weapons production and storage facility in Subic, which hosted the largest overseas American base during the Cold War period.”
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/trump-s-bearhug-philippines