The revival of great power game in the South China Sea and the Philippines' security dilemma

• Main Author: Tolentino, Elaine Nicolas
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2017
• Subjects: Philippines—Foreign relations—China; China—Foreign relations—Philippines; Boundary disputes; Philippine Sea—Boundaries—South China Sea; South China Sea—Boundaries—Philippine Sea; Balance of power; International Relations
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/13351
• Institution: De La Salle University

The complexity of security issues in East Asia has risen in recent years. One bone of contention is China's assertive maritime behavior in the South China Sea region. Brushes in the area have become the new normal between China and other claimant littoral states, and between China and the United States. Among smaller claimant countries, the frequent scuffles of the Philippines with China have ushered in a more assertive Philippine foreign policy towards the latter and the South China Sea than before. In turn, the Philippines' actions have induced an even more aggressive reaction from China and engendered an indirect balancing by the United States and its post-war ally Japan through their overt support to the enhancement of the Philippines' defense capabilities and military exercise trainings. This paper briefly revisits the evolution of Philippine foreign policy towards the South China Sea after 1995 and finds implications for the Philippines' security dilemma caused by asymmetric power relations.