Poland picks side

In an international environment increasingly dominated by giants flexing their influence through debt traps, warships and disinformation, the Polish-Philippine relationship is a study in subtle diplomacy.

It lacks the bombast of Beijing, the gravitas of Washington and the moral preening of Brussels.

But it is, in its own quiet way, a model for 21st-century statecraft: principled, practical, persistently underestimated.

As tensions sharpen in the choppy waters of the South China Sea, a landlocked European nation, known more for Chopin than China policy, has emerged as one of the Philippines’ most vocal backers.

On an evening in Manila, Poland made it clear: It stands squarely behind the Philippines’ sovereign rights and the 2016 arbitral ruling that clipped China’s vast maritime ambitions.

“We support the rule of law,” said Adam Dyszlewski, Poland’s chargé d’affaires, with the quiet conviction of someone who’s seen a few political winters. “And the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration is part of that law.”

The occasion was Poland’s Constitution Day, a date freighted with historical resonance for Poles who have known tyranny firsthand.

But here in the tropics, in a ballroom filled with diplomats, Polish nationals and the usual constellation of guests from the Philippine foreign policy community, the talk was less about Warsaw and more about the West Philippine Sea, a testament to how far, and how subtly, Polish-Philippine relations have come since they were first formalized in 1973.

While Poland may not command an aircraft carrier or a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, it has something else: credibility.

As a European Union member, it has aligned with other Western nations in rejecting China’s infamous nine-dash line claim, an overreach that the PCA ruling deemed incompatible with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The move is more than symbolic. Last year, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski visited Manila and met with President Marcos Jr., reiterating Poland’s support for international maritime law and its defense of the rules-based order, an increasingly rare phrase in a region where coercion often trumps cooperation.

Yet for all the diplomatic affirmations, it is in the tangible (defense hardware, trade figures and cultural exports) where this relationship is quietly taking root.

Poland, often overshadowed in the broader European conversation, has become an unlikely but strategic partner in Manila’s recalibration of alliances.

The helicopters. The Philippines has been flying Polish-made Black Hawks and Sokols, a visible (and audible) reminder of Poland’s defense partnership.

In an era when “interoperability” and “capacity building” have become buzzwords, Warsaw has been delivering on both fronts. Notably, at Poland’s National Day celebrations last November, defense cooperation took center stage, a thematic shift from polonaise to pragmatism.

Economically, the partnership is equally curious and compelling. In 2022, the Philippines exported $441 million worth of goods to Poland, largely in the form of electronics and office machine parts.

The trade balance favors Manila, with Philippine exports growing at a steady pace of 1.69 percent annually over the last five years.

Poland, for its part, has supplied the Philippines with everything from gas turbines to orthopedic appliances, a mix that reads like the contents of a sci-fi hospital.

Investment, though modest, is not without its ambitions.

The Pietrucha Group has set up shop in the Philippines, producing vinyl sheet piles, while Polish IT-BPM ventures like Lingaro have added a digital layer to the bilateral relationship.

Filipino firms, too, are investing in Poland. The most prominent is International Container Terminal Services Inc., which now manages the Baltic Container Terminal in Gdynia, an irony not lost on maritime analysts watching the West Philippine Sea.

“We see Poland not just as a partner in Europe, but as a gateway,” said Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Jesus Domingo. “Their support for our territorial rights, their investment in our economy, their presence in our elections — these are things we do not take lightly.”

Domingo was referring to the Polish observers embedded in the EU’s electoral monitoring mission for the upcoming 2025 Philippine elections.

It’s a small gesture, but one that underscores a broader theme: that democracy, for all its mess and misfires, is still worth showing up for.

Cultural exchanges have added warmth to the otherwise steely matrix of trade and security. Filipino cinema has made inroads in Poland’s major film festivals.

Films like “Norte, the End of History” and “Hayop Ka! The Nimfa Dimaano Story” have received critical acclaim, while the animated feature “Iti Mapukpukaw” took home top honors at IAFF Poznan this year.

These may seem like diplomatic footnotes, but in the delicate machinery of soft power, they matter.

Even humanitarian aid has found a place in this evolving partnership.

In the aftermath of typhoon “Haiyan” in 2013, Polish citizens raised funds and sent support, a quiet solidarity that didn’t make global headlines but did not go unnoticed in Tacloban.

So what does the future hold? If recent events are any indication, both countries are leaning in.

The Polish-Philippine Business Forum, held earlier this year, outlined new avenues in digital technology, agriculture and infrastructure. The subtext was clear: small countries can do big things, especially when they do them together.