Keywords
China
Philippines
21st century
international relations
How to Cite
Abstract
This study examines the Philippines’ foreign policy towards the US and China during the period 2001–2021, focusing on how the Philippines navigated its relationships with these two major powers in a changing world order. The research analyzes the evolution of the Philippines’ diplomatic, economic, and security policies in response to China’s rising influence and the US’ strategic priorities in Southeast Asia, spanning from the post-9/11 era through the end of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration. Through analysis of bilateral agreements, trade data, and diplomatic exchanges, this study addresses key questions: How did the Philippines balance its traditional alliance with the US against growing economic ties with China? What factors influenced the Philippines’ policy shifts between these powers across different presidential administrations? The findings reveal that the Philippines pursued a complex strategy of hedging between the two powers, adjusting its approach based on domestic political changes, economic opportunities, and security considerations, particularly regarding territorial disputes in the East Sea.
References
Acosta R. (2021), Philippines Reverses Course and Commits to US Visiting Forces Agreement, USNI News, https://news.usni.org/2021/07/30/philippines-reverses-course-and-commits-to-u-s-visiting-forces-agreement (8.01.2025).
Anh D. T, Bao T. T., Kiet L. H., Binh N. T., Hiep T. X. (2024), The Philippines’ diplomatic strategy toward the US and China: From theory to reality, “Multidisciplinary Reviews” 7(11): 2024262. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31893/multirev.2024262
Balboa J. (2020), Duterte’s Foreign Policy Pivot and Its Impact on Philippine Trade and Investments: An International Political Economy Perspective, “Philippines Political Science Journal”, 41(1–2): 127–160. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/2165025X-BJA10009
Bao T. T. (2023), Philippines – China relations (2010–2021): current status and prospects, “Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities”, 132(6b): 85–101. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26459/hueunijssh.v132i6B.6979
Baviera A. (2012), The Influence of Domestic Politics on Philippine Foreign Policy: The case of Philippines-China relations since 2004, “RSIS Working Paper”, 241: 1–53, https://www.rsis.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/rsis-pubs/WP241.pdf.
Baviera A. (2016), President Duterte’s Foreign Policy Challenges, “Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs”, 38(2): 202–208, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/628452.
Camba A. (2023), From Aquino to Marcos: political survival and Philippine foreign policy towards China, “Journal of Contemporary East Asia Studies”. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/24761028.2023.2281165
Chao W.-C. (2022), The Political Economy of the Philippines and Its Development Strategy under China-USA Power Rivalry and Hegemonic Competition: Hedge with Balance, “The Chinese Economy”, 56(4): 292–303. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10971475.2022.2136694
De Castro R. C. (2009), The US-Philippine Alliance: An Evolving Hedge against an Emerging China Challenge, “Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs”, 31(3): 399–423, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/370828. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1355/cs31-3b
De Castro R. C. (2015), The Philippines Confronts China in the East Sea: Power Politics vs. Liberalism-Legalism, “Asian Perspective”, 39(1): 71–100, https://www.jstor.org/stable/43738115. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/apr.2015.0010
De Castro R. C. (2016), Twenty-First Century Philippines’ Policy Toward an Emergent China: From Equi-Balancing to Strategic Balancing, “Asian Politics & Policy”, 8(2): 305–328. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.12249
De Castro R. C. (2019), China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the Duterte administration’s appeasement policy: Examining the connection between the two national strategies, “East Asia”, 36(3): 205–227. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12140-019-09315-9
De Castro R. C. (2024), Exploring the Philippines’ Evolving Grand Strategy in the Face of China’s Maritime Expansion: From the Aquino Administration to the Marcos Administration, “Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs”, 43(1): 94–119. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/18681034241234670
Embassy of the Philippines in bejing China (2020), Philippines – China relations, Home page of Embassy of the Philippines in bejing China, https://beijingpe.dfa.gov.ph/overview-of-philippines-china-relations/84-phl-chn-relations (22.03.2023).
Goryakin Y., Lobstein T., James W. P., Suhrcke M. (2015), The impact of economic, political and social globalization on overweight and obesity in the 56 low and middle income countries, “Social Science and Medicine”, 133: 67–76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.03.030
Heydarian R. J. (2017), Tragedy of Small Power Politics: Duterte and the Shifting Sands of Philippine Foreign Policy, “Asian Security”, 13(3): 220–236. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14799855.2017.1354569
Hiep T. X., Hoan T. Q., Kiet Le Hoang (2024), Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy: Competitive opinions and trends, “Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета, Международные отношения”, 17(3): 242–259. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu06.2024.301
Holmes O. (2017), Trump hails ‘great relationship’ with Philippines’ Duterte, Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/13/trump-hails-great-relationship-with-philippines-duterte (15.01.2025).
Jennings R. (2017a), Philippines Seeks to Improve Relations with US. Voice of America, https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/us-philippines/4057554.html (2.03.2023).
Jennings R. (2017b), Philippines Seeks to Improve Relations with US. Voice of America, https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/us-philippines/4057554.html (12.03.2023).
Jeong J., Grix J. (2023), An analysis of Japan’s soft power strategies through the prism of sports mega-events, “Sport in Society”, 26(10): 1756–1776. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2023.2197398
Magcamit M. (2019), To feel is to believe: China, United States, and the emotional beliefs of Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte, “Political Science”, 73(1): 6–30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00323187.2021.1967764
Paderon M. M. (2022), Philippine-United States Trade Relations: Looking Back and a Way Forward, East – West Center, https://www.eastwestcenter.org/publications/philippine-united-states-trade-relations-looking-back-and-way-forward (15.03.2023).
Pemmaraju S. R. (2016), The East Sea Arbitration (The Philippines v. China): Assessment of the Award on Jurisdiction and Admissibility, “Chinese Journal of International Law”, 15(2): 265–307. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/chinesejil/jmw019
Peters M. (2022), The emerging multipolar world order: A preliminary analysis, “Educational Philosophy and Theory”, 55(14): 1653–1663. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2022.2151896
Phuong L. (2021), US-Philippines relationship “broken mirror heals”, “Vietnam National Defense Magazine”, http://tapchiqptd.vn/vi/quoc-phong-quan-su-nuoc-ngoai/quan-he-my-philippines-guong-vo-lai-lanh/17784.html (29.02.2023).
Phuong L. N., Tok S. K. (2024), Domestic imperative of the Philippines’ South China Sea policy: personality-driven policymaking and constant shifts between China and the United States, “The Pacific Review”, 38(1): 29–59. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2024.2321268
Quinn M. (2019), Two US senators banned from visiting Philippines, CBS News, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/two-u-s-senators-banned-from-visiting-philippines/ (12.01.2025).
Schneider G. (2013), Peace through globalization and capitalism? Prospects of two liberal propositions, “Journal of Peace Research”, 51(2): 173–183. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343313497739
Sifton J. (2020), US Revokes Visa of Philippines ‘Drug War’ Police Chief, Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/01/22/us-revokes-visa-philippines-drug-war-police-chief (10.03.2023).
Sorensen G. (2006), What Kind of World Order? The International System in the New Millennium, “Cooperation and Conflict”, 41(4): 343–363. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0010836706069601
Takagi Y. (2023), The politics of grand strategy in an emerging state: a case study on Philippine diplomacy toward China, “Journal of Contemporary East Asia Studies”, 11(2): 329–345. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/24761028.2023.2188354
Tolentino E., Ham M. (2015), The entrapment of asymmetry: the Philippines between the US and China, “Bandung J of Global South”, 2(20). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40728-015-0016-8
Torio P., Doytch N. (2023), Understanding US-Philippines Bilateral Relations: Building a Strong Foundation for Economic Cooperation, “SSRN of Journal”. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4436822
United States Trade Representative (2021), National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers in 2021, Home page of United States Trade Representative, https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/reports/2021/2021NTE.pdf (11.03.2023).
Van M. (2016), The President of the Philippines visits China with an economic focus, Request for Information, https://www.rfi.fr/vi/chau-a/20161018-tong-thong-philippines-tham-trung-quoc-voi-trong-tam-kinh-te (25.03.2023).
Velasco J. C., Song W. (2023), Nexus of Strong Presidentialism and Philippine Foreign Policy: The Case of the Duterte Presidency’s Hedging toward China, “Pacific Focus Inha Journal of International Studies”, 38(3): 349–377. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/pafo.12239
Winger G. (2023), Alliance Embeddedness: Rodrigo Duterte and the Resilience of the US-Philippine Alliance, “Foreign Policy Analysis”, 17(3). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/fpa/orab013
Yu L. (2017), Sino-Philippine relations showing good momentum in all fields, Xinhuanet, http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/201711/15/c_136754233.htm (27.03.2023).
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Le Hoang Kiet, Tran Xuan Hiep
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.