Manila’s most recent move to create a barrier and stockpile more weapons against China’s growing threat in the South China Sea elevated ties to a corporate partnership.
After meeting with Ferdinand Marcos Jr., South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared that the two countries had “opened a new chapter” and that his nation would “actively take part” in the Armed Forces of the Philippines ‘ ( AFP ) modernization drive.
The Philippines is expected to spend up to US$ 35 billion over the course of its Horizon 3 defense development plan, with a particular emphasis on maritime and flying acquisitions, over the next ten years.
Over the past century, South Korea has been a leading provider of modern military products, including fighter jet and warships.
The traditional Yoon management has more boldly welcomed closer defense ties with Washington and like-minded powers in the region, contrasting with its democratic predecessor, President Moon Jae-in, who generally focused on the Vietnamese Peninsula conflict and maintained robust ties with Beijing.
The Marcos Jr administration has vehemently pursued its personal “multi-aligned” foreign legislation in response to criticism of his perceived support for US foreign policy, particularly from strong Duterte community members.
To remove accusations of relying on America, the Philippines has been actively upgrading security ties with a host of quasi-non-aligned countries, including India, New Zealand, and, most critically, South Korea.
Seoul has a treaty relationship with America, but the Northeast Asian nation has previously maintained more balanced international relations, including fostering comfortable ties with Beijing and, occasionally, yet with Tehran and Moscow to maintain Pyongyang at bay.  ,
Consequently, South Korea has generally shunned any immediate criticism of China and other revision powers. Seoul has surprisingly often criticized Beijing for its problems over the South China Sea, and it has adopted strategic misunderstanding regarding any possible action in a Taiwan problems.
South Korea’s accomplished unusual plan has gone hand-in-hand with the development of a world-class security industry. As a result, Seoul has become a “global tilt state”, one that has become more confrontational under the Yoon management.
Yoon spoke out while in Manila about issues raised by North Korea, the South China Sea problems, the continuing discord in Ukraine, and risks that reactionary nations may pose to a rules-based global order.
In the past century, South Korea has provided FA-50 fighter planes, frigates, and ships to the Philippines. Seoul wants to become the fourth-largest producer of arms by 2027, so it wants to sign significant new defence agreements with developing nations like the Philippines and the Philippines with large defense budgets.  ,
Soon after hosting Yoon, Marcos Jr signed a new rules, known as the Self-Reliant Defense Posture Program, to raise the Philippines ‘ regional arms business.
In light of rising geopolitical uncertainty in the area, the law’s goals are to promote indigenous and joint production of modern weapons and revive the nation’s long-dormant defense industry.
“Cyber security breaches, chemical attacks, radiological threats — these are more than hypothetical risks, but pressing realities. With this, we are broadening our perspective on defense. We are not just focusing on rifles and tanks. We are developing capacities to confront these unconventional dangers head-on, Marcos said.
” This means developing systems and strategies that are reactive and predictive, allowing us to stay a step ahead of those who wish harm to the Philippines”, he added.
Nevertheless, the Philippines ‘ ace card remains its deepening defense ties with the US. Aside from ever-larger joint military exercises, Washington has also allocated a bipartisan, multi-billion-dollar defense aid package to its Southeast Asian mutual defense treaty ally.
The US has also provided direct assistance, including sending Philippine resupply ships to disputable landforms like the Second Thomas Shoal, the site of numerous territorial disputes between Chinese and Filipino marine forces in the last year.
The Philippines ‘ decision to grant the US Pentagon expanded rotational access to military installations in the country’s northern regions facing Taiwan is perhaps the most crucial.
In the event of a crisis in the region, the recent decision to host advanced platforms like America’s Typhon missile system, which could target crucial Chinese military installations. The Typhon is capable of launching SM-6 missiles and Tomahawks with a range exceeding 1, 600 kilometers (994 miles ).
The missile system was stationed in the Philippines for recent joint” Salaknib” military exercises with US forces, but it has since been abandoned.
In light of the growing hostility between China and Taiwan over the South China Sea and nearby Taiwan Strait, the Marcos Jr administration believes that the American weapons system could deter any drastic Chinese military action.
In the future, the Philippines is anticipated to seek the direct purchase of cutting-edge American missile and other weapon systems as part of its recently unveiled Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept ( CADC ) strategy. The goal would be to raise the cost of any Chinese kinetic action in any potential assault on Taiwan and the two sides ‘ South China China disputes.
” Relying on US ‘ deterrence to gain an upper hand over China in the South China Sea issue is a short-sighted and narrow-minded move by the Philippines”, Dai Fan, director of the Center for Philippine Studies at Jinan University in South China’s Guangdong Province, told the Chinese Communist Party-run Global Times newspaper.
Although some Chinese experts have tried to play down the Typhon missile system’s deployment, sharp statements made by top Chinese officials underscore Beijing’s growing concerns over deepening Philippine-US military cooperation.
Follow Richard Javad Heydarian on X at @Richeydarian