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Friday, March 29, 2024

‘Duterte needs credible alliances’

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ALLIANCE treaties with the US and other countries like Japan and Australia should be strengthened by the new government as the Armed Forces of the Philippines needs to shift its stance from internal security to territorial defense, an independent think tank said.      

“We believe the AFP should now develop a credible defense position that would make a potential adversary think twice before using force against the Philippines,” said Dindo Manhit, president of the Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute (ADRi).

Tensions threatened to escalate days ago over the disputed waters when Chinese fighter jets “maneuvered unsafely” as they intercepted an American navy reconnaissance plane. The two nations had since traded accusations.

An option is fostering a trilateral armed forces featuring the Army, Air Force, and Navy for maritime territorial security, in particular the monitoring and securing of Philippines-controlled land features in the South China Sea and adjacent waters.  

Even so, Manhit cautioned that no amount of resources and arms acquisition can enable the Philippines to face an assertive and militarily powerful China and so efforts must be concentrated on strengthening the AFP’s joint operations capabilities.

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Its development of its early warning, surveillance, and command, control, and communication must be designed with an ally or set of allies in mind.  

It is thus crucial for the administration of presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte to strengthen its alliance with the US built around the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.   

“Continuous training with allied forces, including the US and its other bilateral allies such as Japan, Australia, and South Korea should also be prioritized,” he said.  

Another area of cooperation is Stratbase ADRi’s very own US-Philippines Strategic Initiative, a high-level policy dialogue project launched last year in Washington featuring the think tank, the Philippines Inc. Eminent Persons Group, and Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Described as a potential “game changer” in US-Philippine relations, USPSI is a three-year project designed to add depth, creativity, and a sense of urgency in modernizing the US-Philippine alliance.

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