Following a number of contentious remarks made by senior US officials during the most recent Munich Security Conference and this week’s decision to support Russia over Ukraine at the UN, the Trump administration has purposefully put the future of America’s relationship with Europe in fear.
However, the following Trump president’s signals toward transatlantic allies have been more soothing, hinting at a harder US plan line to appear on China. The presence of both the prime ministers of Japan and India at the White House in recent weeks highlights the generally good speed under Trump with like-minded Indo-Pacific power.
As for infantry friends such as the Philippines, it has been constantly reassured by high-level activities with Trump’s top defense and foreign policy leaders. Among the first contacts that US Secretary Marco Rubio made in his first time in business was Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Eduardo Manalo, who was also notable and notable.
On the occasion of the Munich Security Conference, the two top diplomats met in person to reiterate their shared commitment to upholding a “rules-based” attempt in Asia and working together to stop China’s assertive behaviour in neighboring lakes, including the South China Sea.
In addition, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro was one of the first international best officials to join US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who has broadly agreed with Rubio’s assessment of China as the greatest threat to America’s international management.
However, frontline Pacific supporters are quietly preparing for” the evening after”, especially when Trump’s America becomes a more isolated and possibly crazed power.
Trump’s unwaveringly transactional approach to foreign policy and his apprehension of autocrats in Beijing and Moscow have given Asian allies fresh motivation to develop their own skills and develop relationships with one another under a so-called “multi-alignment” hedging plan.  ,
Major Spanish officers and leading specialists are usually cautiously optimistic about the prospects for continued strong diplomatic relations under Trump. The current freeze of USAID and the wider upending of the US federal bureaucracy are expected to cause US defense aid to the Philippines to be unperturbed.
A multi-billion defense aid package earmarked for the Philippines over the next five years is still a strong bipartisan vote in Congress for military support for important Asian allies.  ,
During the US-Philippines special meeting in Munich, the US diplomatic chief  , “reaffirmed US commitment to the United States-Philippines alliance]and ] noted his enthusiasm for building an even more invested and enduring relationship”.
The two sides also discussed , ways to enhance “ongoing bilateral coordination on addressing China’s destabilizing actions in the South China Sea, and increasing economic cooperation on infrastructure, critical minerals, information technology, and energy, including through civil nuclear cooperation”.
Additionally, the Philippines is in a good position to restart long-stalled bilateral trade negotiations due to its relatively low exports to and trade surplus with America.
Although the Trump administration’s protectionist agenda has largely opposed traditional free trade agreements, it is reportedly looking into sectoral trade agreements with an emphasis on geopolitically sensitive industries like semiconductors, precious minerals, and even digital trade with trusted allies.
As neighboring Taiwan faces the real possibility of conflict with China and Japan ramps up its own semiconductor industry, the Philippines has actively promoted itself as a” China-free” supplier of critical minerals and as an alternative site for semiconductor production.
Manila’s security partnership and economic ties to the US will continue to be the foundation of its international strategy in the long run. For almost a century, Manila’s elite have effectively outsourced their external security needs to Washington.
However, with rising speculation of a US-China grand bargain, what some are already referring to as a” Mar-a-Lago Accord”, the Philippines is also hedging its bets by actively pursuing minilateral cooperation with other like-minded middle powers.
The rivalry, which serves as a middle power, in some ways gives rise to efforts to reach out to nations in similar circumstances and work with them, which is what we’ve been doing, according to Philippine diplomatic chief Manalo.
In April, Manila will be hosting as many as 14 similarly-minded middle powers as it rapidly strengthens defense ties with Japan, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, South Korea and India.
General Nakatani, the Philippine defense chief, and his Japanese counterpart discussed strengthening defense ties and discussed concerns over China.  ,
Nakatani told his Filipino counterpart Teodoro,” The security environment surrounding us is getting worse and that it is necessary for the two countries as strategic partners to further improve defense cooperation and collaboration to maintain peace and stability in]the ] Indo-Pacific.”
The Philippines and Japan’s recently ratified Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA ) has prompted Manila to pursue similar agreements with other similar-minded nations like Canada, France, and New Zealand.
A historic joint drill between Philippine and French naval forces took place last week in the South China Sea. Shortly after, the French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, docked in Subic Bay, the former site of America’s largest overseas naval facility, in a sign of rapidly growing bilateral defense ties with Manila.
The French ambassador to the Philippines, Marie Fontanel, declared on the carrier’s flight deck,” We want to strengthen our cooperation with regional partners with whom we share common values, such as upholding international law and ensuring freedom of navigation in shared maritime spaces.”
By openly discussing its own potential grand strategic bargain with the Asian superpower, the Philippines is also signaling its strategic autonomy and reopening communication channels with Beijing in a deeper hedge.
In exchange for easing tensions and China’s eventual withdrawal from the Southeast Asian nation’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, Philippine President Marcos Jr. made the offer to withdraw the American mid-range Typhon missile system from the northern Philippines last month.
China has voiced serious concerns about the US missile system’s positioning on Philippine soil, which makes Manila able to strike the country’s mainland, and raises concerns that Beijing sees it as a threat in light of a potential US-to-US conflict over Taiwan.
” Let’s make a deal with China —stop claiming our territory, stop harassing our fishermen and let them have a living, stop ramming our boats, stop water-cannoning our people, stop firing lasers at us, and stop your aggressive and coercive behavior, and I’ll return the Typhon missiles”, Marcos said.
” Stop all their aggressive acts and I’ll return everything”, he added, underscoring Manila’s own autonomous decision to leverage its alliance with Washington to deter foreign aggression.
Ultimately, however, the Philippines is investing in its own capabilities, allocating close to$ 1 billion for acquisitions of modern weapons systems this year, with a focus on modern missile defense systems, drones and fighter jets.
Manila is growing more confident that it can and should pursue a more “multi-aligned” foreign policy that lessens its historical reliance on the US against external threats, a trend that will likely increase in the Trump 2.0 era.
Follow Richard Javad Heydarian on X at @Rich Heydarian