The recent agreement the Philippines signed with Singapore is most significant for pursuing alliances in the face of the raging territorial conflict.
The neighbors signed an agreement on Wednesday to deepen defense cooperation in areas of mutual interest, the details of which remain vague but pivotal since it is the first of its kind with a fellow ASEAN member.
All the cooperation deals that contain a military element are mostly with nations outside the region, except for Japan with which the country signed a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) recently.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which merely indicates the promotion of cooperation in areas such as military education and anti-terrorism.
The deal is the first involving the Philippines and a co-member in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
China has been using its financial muscle to pull ASEAN members to its side on several issues, including the maritime friction.
Landmark agreements like the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have accelerated trade through tariff cuts and closer supply chain links but these trade pacts are political leverage too.
Thus, the bloc instead of relying on its strength, since its members together can rival the Chinese economy, now heavily depends on the Asian giant for economic gains.
The Philippines is usually left in the lurch when raising the need for a united stand against China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
A Filipino military official indicated that they find the same attitude when seeking assistance from their ASEAN peers regarding the sea rift.
The country has found only Vietnam and now Singapore as willing partners or at least someone to discuss the maritime conflict with
A strong statement from ASEAN’s foreign ministers, for instance, expressing disapproval of China’s actions would send a clear message of the Economic Community’s stand but nothing had been issued in past summits.
For instance, in the Ayungin Shoal face-off, statements of support and concern have come from Japan, the United States, Australia, South Korea and Sweden but not from ASEAN members.
Experts say that by its silence ASEAN is losing the opportunity to establish itself as a force to be reckoned with.
The aggressive moves of its giant neighbor violate ASEAN’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), which calls for “mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity of all nations.”
Also violated is the commitment enshrined in the TAC to resolve and manage international disputes peacefully.
The word “dispute” implies that China’s maritime claims are on equal footing with the Philippines’, which is not the case.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has stated: “We have no conflicting claims with China. What we have is China making claims on our territory.”
Most ASEAN nations parrot the China line when confronted with international rules regarding the dispute as they reference the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and the still-under-negotiation Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (CoC).
The talks on the CoC have been going on for over two decades and are stalled due to the impossible demands of China, not least of which is its insistence that the binding rules recognize its expansive nine-dash line claim.
Signing a defense pact with the Philippines, thus, has replaced the issuance of a pointed message against China but it will have the same impact in terms of communicating a message.
Regional analysts have indicated that the alliances provide an equalizer in terms of equilibrium in military might as the Philippines builds up its defense capabilities.
Singapore’s defense pact with the Philippines is significant since it opens doors for other ASEAN peers to see the need to stand together against threats to its members and the emergent bloc.