MANILA – In the tumultuous South China Sea dispute, France is the latest American power to join the Philippines.
While this month’s US- Spanish Balikatan ( shoulder to shoulder ) joint military exercises are renowned for their large size with over 17, 000 participating troops, state- of- the- art missile system tests and drills innocently near Taiwan, France’s presence at the war games has been less noticed.  ,  ,  ,
The French Navy’s flagship warship, Vendemiaire, sailed alongside Philippine and US counterparts – the Philippine Navy’s BRP Davao del Sur ( LD- 602 ) and BRP Ramon Alcaraz ( PS- 16 ) and the US Navy’s USS Harpers Ferry– as part of the multilateral maritime exercise ( MME) under Balikatan Exercises 2024.
France also announced that it would soon begin high-level negotiations for a similar arrangement to the Visiting Forces Agreement with the Philippines to regulate and expand combined drills in the near future.
Additionally, the European power is even offering superior weapons systems, including a possible multi- billion submarine deal, amid the Philippines ‘ substantial military modernization program.
Although a member of the US agreement alliance, the Philippines is actively diversifying its security relations by strengthening ties with a broad network of companions from the Indo-Pacific to Europe to improve its strategic autonomy and strengthen its lagging maritime security capabilities.
The US is still the country’s sole treaty ally and its principal safeguard partner. Under the terms of the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, US President Joe Biden once more pledged to assist the Philippines in the event of a fight in the South China Sea.
For the first trilateral mountain of Japan, Philippines, and US ( JAPHUS), Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his Chinese counterpart Fumio Kishida just sat down in Washington. At the conference, the US and Japan both pledged to increase their security aid and invest new proper funds in the Philippines.
The Philippines is quickly emerging as a crucial part of America’s “integrated deterrence” approach in Asia, which is why the South China Sea and the Bashi Channel near Taiwan are the site of the highly developed and technically advanced Balikatan joint maneuvers.
Filipino policymakers, however, are also keenly aware that the Biden administration is committed to multiple allies and partners across various theaters, from Eastern Europe to the Middle East.
The US Senate recently passed a US$ 95 billion emergency package with earmarks for Ukraine ($ 60 billion ), Israel ($ 17 billion ) and Taiwan ($ 8 billion ). Although US military funding for the Philippines is projected to increase to about$ 500 million, it still accounts for only a small portion of US defense aid to other security partners.
And it’s not clear when, if ever, the Philippines will also get American- made and desperately needed modern fighter jets and weapons systems, which even non- allies such as Jordan, Pakistan and Egypt have received. The Philippines ‘ level of US aid to date is woefully inadequate in light of the magnitude of the military challenge posed by China in nearby waters.
Natural partners
Over the past decade, the Philippines and Europe have emerged as like- minded partners. The Philippines broadly shares Europe’s strategic outlook and value system as the only liberal democracy in Southeast Asia, which has notably supported the West in conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.
Even more crucially, the two sides have also steadily recognized each others ‘ strategic significance. For its part, the European Union and post- Brexit Britain have stepped up their regional diplomacy through the pursuit of free trade agreements and defense cooperation with a host of Asian powers, most notably India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore and Vietnam.
While the European Union has concluded free trade agreements with various regional economies, Britain became the first European country to sign on to the Japan-led Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership ( CPPA ) and become the first free trade agreement.
All three major European powers, in addition to the Netherlands and Italy, have recently carried out patrols across the Indo-Pacific, and the European powers have also been active on the defense front.
French President Emmanuel Macron made an open call for a” Paris, Delhi, Canberra axis,” which he claimed would “be respected by China as an equal partner” during a visit to the region, underscoring Europe’s commitment to a proactive strategic presence there.
France also became the first European nation to appoint a special envoy in the Indo-Pacific. Along with Germany, France also released its own” Indo-Pacific” strategy in the late 2010s, which served as a guide for the broader European Union’s foreign policy in Asia.
At times, France has pushed the China envelope with the naval frigate Vendemiaire , passing through the Taiwan straits in Europe’s own version of “freedom of navigation operations”. In addition, Britain has frequently deployed warships to the Indo-Pacific, most notably the HMS Queen Elizabeth during the pandemic, for joint drills and freedom of navigation patrols.
Although the Philippines and other countries in the Rodrigo Duterte administration had contentious relations, particularly over human rights and democracy, the three major European powers, the so-called” E3,” have consistently supported Southeast Asian countries in their South China Sea disputes.
The Marcos Jr administration has embraced a friendlier stance toward traditional partners while standing up for China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea in the past two years.
Last year, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen made a historic visit to Manila to “accelerate a new era of cooperation” in order to jointly preserve ,” the international rules- based order”. During her visit, she openly criticized China both for the latter’s alleged assistance to Russia in the Ukraine conflict but also, referring to the South China Sea disputes, China’s “more assertive stance in your region]Southeast Asia ]”.
Accordingly, she vowed to” strengthen cooperation with the Philippines on maritime security” by focusing on, inter alia,” the capacity of your National Coast Watch Center (NCWC ) and your Coast Guard”.
The European Union’s commitment to strengthening bilateral defense cooperation was highlighted by the fact that Britain also sent a first-ever observer to the Balikatan exercises last year.
Europe is positioning itself as a significant potential supplier of advanced weapons systems in addition to the Philippines ‘ once-in-a-generation military modernization program.
Particularly noteworthy is France Naval Group, a manufacturer of the Scorpene diesel-electric submarine, who has offered to build submarines and a Philippine submarine force as well as provide the basic infrastructure needed for the operation of sophisticated naval assets.
Other European nations such as Spain, which had a three- centuries- old colony in the Philippines, have also offered major submarine and warship packages.
France participated in this month’s Balikatan exercises through trilateral naval drills with the Philippines and the US, including maritime search and rescue operations, gunnery exercises, and division tactics, to improve their interoperability and signal a united front.
” They have lined up training activities. In fact, upon reaching]our ] eastern coast in Palawan, they will start division tactics]training]. They will be sailing together]across ] east coast then ]head ] up north up to Mindoro Strait]then enter ] the]South China ] Sea”, Philippine military spokesman Ariel Coloma told reporters in a mixture of Filipino and English.
Following their joint drills in the South China Sea, the three navies will break out for separate exercises, according to Coloma. Additionally, the Philippines ‘ BRP Ramon Alcaraz and the French frigate Vendemiairea are scheduled to conduct separate bilateral drills separate from the US-Pakistan exercises.
According to French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel, negotiations on a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA ) could significantly accélérate bilateral security cooperation, based on a prior agreement reached last December.
The French ambassador spoke during a press conference with French Ambassador to the Indo-Pacific Marc Abensour, who had also traveled to the Philippines on the sidelines of the Balikatan exercises, about having an opportunity to start the negotiations in May or at least talk about the modalities.
Other European powers, including the US and Australia, who both have VFA-style agreements with the Southeast Asian nation, might soon follow suit.
Follow Richard Javad Heydarian on X at @Richeydarian