Because of unresolved territorial disputes and maritime jurisdictional conflicts in the South China Sea (SCS), the Asia Pacific region continues to confront persistent security uncertainties against the backdrop of other conflicts in the Taiwan Straits, the Korean Peninsula, and the East China Sea among others. Worsening major power rivalry between China and the United States confound the SCS problem, which inevitably puts the Philippines in a delicate role as either an enabler of conflict or an instrument of peace in the Asia Pacific.

The Philippines under the leadership of President Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr. has regrettably become an enabler of conflict by allowing the US, a long-time security ally, closer access to Philippine territories by setting up various American military facilities in Philippine bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

The Philippines during the administration of the late President Benigno Simeon Aquino III E initially offered five EDCA locations in 2014 in order to implement the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and supplement the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). But former President Rodrigo R. Duterte did not implement EDCA and even suspended the VFA because he pursued a China-friendly Philippine foreign policy. But the current Philippine administration led by Marcos Jr has pursued an excessive pro-Americanism in foreign policy by expanding the implementation of EDCA and even offering in 2023 four additional locations for the construction of US military facilities in Philippine bases. These........

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