MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines kicked off what will be a jam-packed week in diplomacy and defense with a new partner in the middle of an “increasingly complex geopolitical and economic environment.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday, October 8, welcomed President Yoon Suk-yeol to Malacañang for the first state visit of a South Korean president to the Philippines in over a decade.
It was dark and gloomy in the city of Manila — arrival honors had to be moved indoors, and the traffic surrounding the Malacañang compound was unbearable — but there was nothing to be woeful about this visit.
After a bilateral meeting and preceding a luncheon with top officials from Manila and Seoul, Marcos and Yoon announced the elevation of bilateral ties to a strategic partnership.
“During our fruitful bilateral meetings, President Yoon and I covered several areas of our cooperation, including defense and security, maritime cooperation, economic and development cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges. We agreed that we have made significant strides in advancing and deepening our bilateral cooperation towards the attainment of our mutually beneficial goals,” said Marcos during a joint press briefing in the Palace.
Marcos said that he and Yoon “exchanged views on regional and international issues, such as the West Philippine Sea and in the Korean Peninsula.”
The strategic partnership, according to the joint declaration, will deepen political engagement between the two governments, and means that both are committed to “mutually beneficial security and defense engagements,” which would include military exercises and training to “address traditional and non-traditional security issues.”
Marcos and Yoon also witnessed the signing of memorandums of agreement, including one that would “carry out a thorough feasibility study to continue progress on the BNPP Rehabilitation, which we envision to contribute to energy security in the country.” The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was a pet project — an expensive but failed one — of the president’s namesake and father, the late dictator.
That Seoul is Manila’s fourth strategic partner (Vietnam, Japan, and Australia round out the list) makes sense.
Both countries are trying to figure out a relationship with an increasingly belligerent superpower like China; both are treaty-allies of the United States; and both are facing existential threats. The threat is China’s encroachment of the West Philippines Sea and disregard of the 2016 Arbitral Award in the case of Manila, and, for Seoul, it’s North Korea’s ballistic missile launches and “rhetoric on the possible use of nuclear weapons.”
Both issues were mentioned in the joint declaration:
- “Reaffirming both countries’ unwavering commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament and acknowledging the interconnectedness of the region, the ROK and the PHL highlighted the importance of sustained and peaceful dialogue in realizing lasting peace and stability on a denuclearized Korean Peninsula”
- “Marking the 8th anniversary of the July 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award, which sets out the legal basis for the peaceful resolution of maritime disputes between the parties to that proceeding, they reiterated their firm respect and due regard to the respective rights, jurisdictions, duties and freedoms of States, including freedom of navigation and overflight, in line with UNCLOS.”
Even before this, Seoul was already looking forward to deepening maritime security ties with the Philippines, primarily through its coast guards.
And then there’s Seoul’s role in the Philippine military’s long-overdue modernization efforts. Yoon said South Korea would “actively take part” in Horizon 3, or phase 3 of the military’s upgrade.
ASEAN, once again
Manila is only one of three stops for Yoon in the region. He flies next to Singapore and to Laos for the 44th and 45th Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) Summits and Related Summits.
Marcos will also be attending a gathering at Vientiane, alongside practically all of the region’s leaders. Fellow heads of state or government from ASEAN partners will also be attending. Notably, neither China nor the United States are expected to be represented by their heads of state. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be representing US President Joe Biden, while Chinese Premier Li Qiang is expected to attend in lieu of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Every year, the question most journalists ask is this: Are there updates to the Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea? Will there be breakthroughs this year?
Negotiations are still ongoing, as they have been since 2012, or two Philippine presidents ago. What makes the negotiations difficult? The COC is going to be binding on all parties — that is, between members of ASEAN and China.
That’s tricky, considering the different agendas and national interests of the members of ASEAN and China. Brunei, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia, and China are claimants of different parts of the South China Sea. The rest of ASEAN have no claim in the South China Sea, but absolutely have a stake in the freedom of navigation in the crucial waterway. They also have a stake in wanting to keep ties between themselves and China, as well as the regional bloc and China, as stable as possible.
So, no, we won’t see a COC signed in Vientiane. But there is something to look forward to: if and how ASEAN will address increasing tensions in the South China Sea.
Of course, there’s the Philippine dilemma — most dramatically exemplified on June 17, when the China Coast Guard boarded and destroyed the ships of elite Philippine Marines personnel.
But other ASEAN members and their woes over China’s aggression in the South China Sea have also recently grabbed headlines:
- Malaysia’s resolve to continue oil and gas exploration in its part of the South China Sea, despite China’s insistence that it was infringing on Chinese territory. A month back, a confidential February diplomatic note from the Chinese Foreign Ministry protesting Malaysia’s energy exploration activities was leaked to Inquirer.net. Malaysia has said that it would probe the leak.
- More recently, Vietnam made public China’s “brutal treatment” towards Vietnamese fisherfolk in the Paracel islands. Chinese vessels and personnel chased down, boarded, then beat up the fishermen during the September 29 incident. Fisherfolk sustained broken bones and bruises because Chinese personnel beat them with metal sticks.
Manila made two official responses to the Paracel incident. The Department of Foreign Affairs was more restrained: “The Philippines has consistently denounced the use of force, aggression and intimidation in the South China Sea, and emphasized the need for actors to exercise genuine self-restraint. It is a paramount obligation to ensure the safety at sea of vessels and their crew, especially fisherfolk.”
National Security Adviser Eduardo Año’s words were stronger: “We strongly condemn the violent and illegal actions of Chinese maritime authorities against Vietnamese fishermen near the Paracel Islands on September 29, 2024. This unjustified assault, which left 10 fishermen injured and damaged their property, is an alarming act with no place in international relations.”
Going back to ASEAN, can Manila and should Manila expect a change in Vientiane? ASEAN operates on consensus — a feature that’s both helped it survive challenges to the region, but has also been a source of frustration for members and, perhaps, the larger community.
In the Philippines, there’s a notion among officials and pundits that it’s about time (or that it’s only a matter of time) for other ASEAN nations to be just as vocal and, maybe, as daring as Manila, in confronting China for its actions out at sea. – Rappler.com