South China Sea: is Philippines becoming a gateway for West’s Indo-Pacific interests?

With a signed defence pact, two aircraft missions, and more access agreements on the table, the Philippines’ growing diplomatic network could position it as a key partner for other nations to explore their Indo-Pacific strategies.

Observers say recent developments show Manila is “slowly and steadily” creating a defence network centred on “security concerns in the South China Sea”.

Following the signing of a troop deployment pact between Tokyo and Manila, France announced its yearly Pegase air-force mission in the Indo-Pacific was making a pit stop in the Philippines for the first time, while Italy’s carrier strike group would fly to the Philippines after joining Australia’s war games for a humanitarian mission.

Matteo Piasentini, geopolitical analyst and lecturer at the University of the Philippines, said: “[The moves] surely give the Philippines a prominent role as an actor in regional affairs, at least as long as security is concerned. They also, however, send the strong signal that the Philippines is aligned with US and allies in the region.”

On Monday, Philippine defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr said three other reciprocal agreements with Canada, New Zealand, and France were in the works for next year.