US focusing on PH over rest of Southeast Asia – expert

Speaking at a Stratbase Forum in Makati City, Gregory Poling, senior fellow and director of the Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said the collaboration extends to Japan trilateral and bilateral partnerships.

Poling noted the exemption of military aid for the Philippines, along with Taiwan and Ukraine.

“The Philippines is the only country in Asia that explicitly had its military assistance unlocked as a result of Secretary [Enrique] Manalo’s meeting with Secretary [Marco] Rubio. That’s a pretty good sign.

“It means that there’s a recognition within the US Department of State and Department of Defense that the military alliance and the US capacity-building assistance for the Philippines is a critical national interest, one that can’t wait or whatever process is ongoing right now to try to rationalize US foreign assistance,” said Poling.

He noted the number of engagements the Philippines had weeks into the Trump administration compared to other countries in Asia, based on meetings with the US.

“This tells us that the (Trump) administration is committed to putting the time and energy into developing these relationships. That is particularly important given the relative lack of interest that the administration has so far shown toward the rest of Southeast Asia,” said Poling.

“We have seen almost no attention to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Malaysia, as ASEAN chair, has received no phone calls or visits at the cabinet level, and there doesn’t seem to be much interest from either party,” he added.

Polling said there appears to be no clear Asia or Southeast Asia strategy for the US.

“The Philippines, by getting so much attention – both funding and high-level attention – is being singled out as a partner and an ally, not as part of a Southeast Asia strategy, but for its unique relationship with the US bilaterally,” he said.

The expert noted that the US will likely pursue more focused cooperation.

“Their engagements are going to be bilateral, or they’re going to focus on preferred ‘minilaterals’ like the Quad or perhaps like the US-Japan-Philippines trilateral,” he said.

Previously:

What’s Really Going On In the South China Sea Between the Philippines and China:

With grants from the U.S. State Department, between 2022 and 2024, the Stratbase ADR Institute held a series of roundtable discussions highlighting the importance of multilateral cooperation and strategic alliances in addressing regional “security challenges” and “public diplomacy,” or the act of “influencing foreign publics” to support “U.S. foreign policy goals.”

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CSIS receives funding from the U.S. government and other governments allied with the U.S., non-governmental and nonprofit organizations (NGOs & NPOs), defense contractors and other corporate donors.

PH: Stratbase, CIPE (NED), and the Belt and Road Initiative:

07-31-2024: If it’s bad business, it’s bad for the Philippines (archived)

Our organization, the Stratbase ADR Institute, received an award from the prestigious Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), one of the four core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, DC. We were recognized for our research, advocacy, and strategic communication on four infrastructure projects entered into by the Philippines, during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, under the Belt and Road Initiative of China.