THE summit in Washington between the United States, Japan and the Philippines is expected by many political observers to result in the creation of what could be termed as a "defense triangle" to curb China's expansionist ambitions in the Indo-Pacific.

Japan and the Philippines are the US' two closest allies in the region. They are also at the forefront of long-standing territorial quarrels with China. Tokyo has been locked in a dispute with Beijing over the Senkaku Islands. The Philippines has its hands full defending its sovereign rights over maritime features in the West Philippine Sea against repeated incursions by Chinese coast guard vessels.

It is no surprise, therefore, that the US has acknowledged the urgency to reinforce its security alliance with the two Asian nations.

Christopher Johnstone, the Japan expert for the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said in a news report that he "can't remember another meeting like this with a third leader joining at the back of a bilateral summit. And the fact that it's the Philippines says a lot about how much the relationship, both for Tokyo and Washington, with Manila has improved."

We can overlook Johnson's tinge of condescension in undervaluing the Philippines' role in the summit, but what cannot be denied is that the Biden administration has been priming up aid to modernize the Philippine military.

Ahead of the Washington summit, two US senators introduced a bipartisan bill to provide the Philippines with P2.5 billion to upgrade its defense posture. The package includes maritime coastal defense systems, mechanized ground mobility vehicles and cybersecurity defense.

One of the sponsoring senators, Republican Bill Hagerty, said it was "critical" to strengthen cooperation with the Philippines amid "Communist China's growing aggression in the West Philippines and South China Sea."

The bill's Democrat sponsor, Tim Kaine, considered it "pivotal that the people of the Philippines have the resources and support they need in the face of those threats."

Under the defense triangle concept, the Japanese military will be expanded to include joint maneuvers and patrols with Philippine ships in the West Philippine Sea.

China has not been sitting idly by as the Western alliance fine-tunes its Indo-Pacific strategy. Several days ago, the Russian prime minister visited Beijing to highlight "the unprecedented high level of relations" between his country and China brought about by "sensational pressure from the collective West."

Moscow and Beijing have also been boosting relations with North Korea, which they see as a counterweight to the Western alliance's buildup in the Indo-Pacific.

Recently, Chinese warships and fighter planes went on maneuvers in the South China Sea following a joint naval and air military exercise by the Philippines, the US, Japan and Australia.

Rival blocs in the region find it essential to strengthen alliances as the political currents grow more dangerous.

Nowhere is the quest for economic and political domination more apparent than in Asia, which is home to 60 percent of the world's population, and whose estimated gross domestic product of $78.83 trillion makes it a lucrative prize.

The next flash point

With so much at stake, political analysts have been predicting the Indo-Pacific to be the next flash point in the new Cold War. If their predictions hold, the Philippines could find itself smack in the middle of a very volatile situation.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has chosen to align the country with the Western bloc. For the moment, that appears to be the far more acceptable choice than his predecessor's policy of abject submission to Beijing.

The pivot, however, has poked a new beehive of concerns. China has stepped up its attempts to assert its claim over areas in the South China Sea that legally belong to the Philippines, particularly the Ayungin Shoal.

There are also apprehensions that we've given up too much, too soon to the US by allowing several of our military camps to be converted into sites that could serve as jump-off points for US offensive operations in case of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

We must not lose sight of the fact that any alliance we enter into should, first and foremost, provide us with a shield of deterrence to protect our national interest.

Read The Rest at :