The deepening partnership between the Philippines and the United States can serve as a foundation for lasting peace in the region, Stratbase Institute President Dindo Manhit said Tuesday.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion titled “Prospects for the Philippines–United States Alliance in a Complex Geopolitical Landscape” at the Manila House Private Club in Taguig City, Stratbase’s president emphasized the need to build similar strong ties with other like-minded nations.
Manhit said such alliances are vital to ensuring a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific.
“The Philippines is bolstering its external defense through a two-pronged strategy: building stronger national defense capabilities and deepening alliances with like-minded nations,” he said.
The event gathered experts from The Heritage Foundation — Senior Policy Advisor for Defense Budgeting and NATO Policy Wilson Beaver and Senior Research Fellow for Strategic Deterrence Robert Peters — alongside government officials, military officers, diplomats, academics, media, and other stakeholders. The discussion focused on recent developments and ways to strengthen PH-US cooperation amid growing regional tensions.
Stratbase, meanwhile, reaffirmed its commitment to fostering international partnerships and bolstering the Philippines’ credible deterrence posture, particularly against unilateral actions that threaten the rules-based order.
During a recent visit to the United States, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. emphasized the vital role of the Philippines-United States alliance in preserving peace and stability in the South China Sea (SCS) and the broader Indo-Pacific region, amid rising geopolitical tensions.
“I believe that our alliance, the United States and the Philippines, has played a great part in terms of preserving the peace, in terms of preserving the stability of the South China Sea. But I would even go as far as to say in the entire Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
