A treaty ally of the United States, the Philippines is an important country in counterterrorism efforts in Southeast Asia. The Philippines also has an important stake in the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. The U.S. relationship with the Philippines has historically been one of the closest in East Asia.
How did The Philippines rank in the Index of Economic Freedom? Click here to find out. Read More.
Speech by Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr., Secretary of National Defense, Republic of the Philippines Read More.
Abstract: For more than 200 years, the United States has successfully preserved and protected its navigational rights and freedoms by relying on naval operations, diplomatic protests, and customary international law. U.S. membership in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)… Read more
Abstract: Events in the South China Sea this year illustrate once again the urgent need for the Philippines to shift its focus from internal security to maritime defense. The U.S.–Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, the Visiting Forces Agreement, deeply embedded consultation mechanisms, and a century… Read more
Abstract: The expansion of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is in many ways a logical and even forgone conclusion. China is the world’s second-largest economy; its heavy dependence on trade inevitably makes the seas of growing importance to national well-being. Yet as China’s… Read more
The security situation in the South China Sea is deteriorating in a way unseen since the mid-1990s. And given the growth in China’s military power and global influence since then, it is a much bigger problem for the United States. China’s challenge in the South China Sea—its expansive extralegal claims… Read more
The global financial crisis has had a major impact on perceptions of American power and its relationships in Asia. Many of the perceptions are not founded on facts. Among the facts often overlooked: American companies invest far more abroad than does… Read more
A few days ago, the Associated Press quoted Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell and White House Asia Adviser Jeffrey Bader telling ambassadors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that the Administration’s toughness regarding China’s claims in the South China Sea is… Read more
Abstract: The Philippines occupies a strategic location on the edge of China’s “first island chain of defense” and has been subjected to persistent and assertive Chinese claims to disputed territory in the South China Sea. These Chinese claims threaten not only the Philippines and… Read more
The United States is no less a Pacific nation than an Atlantic one. The state of Hawaii and the territories of Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa all lie in the Pacific. The United States has five treaty alliances in East Asia (Japan, Korea, Australia, the Philippines and Thailand),… Read more
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In the next couple of weeks, the Obama Administration will be engaged in high-level diplomacy with America's treaty allies and friends in Southeast Asia. Secretary Clinton will be in Bangkok tomorrow to meet with Thailand's leadership, including Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya. She will then go on to attend the ASEAN Post-Ministerial… Read more
On the eve of the annual Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit this week, an old issue has resurfaced: conflicting claims over the Spratly Islands. The issue is back in the news for good reason; it never really went away. According to press reports, last week the Chinese vice foreign minister summoned the… Read more
On May 10, Filipinos went to the polls and re-elected President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, but her victory does not change the systemic weaknesses responsible for many of the Philippines' problems. During Arroyo's next term, security and economic issues will continue to dominate the U.S.-Philippine relationship. Given the recurring nature of these problems, the Bush administration… Read more
A major American ally is in trouble. A massive scandal involving a Chinese telecommunications company has driven politics in the Philippines off the rails. As the Philippines seeks to address the scandal, the United States should help it avert what has the potential to become a major constitutional crisis. … Read more
President Obama's emphasis on climate change has notable implications for U.S.-China relations. On her inaugural trip to Asia, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought to expand the Sino-American Strategic Economic Dialog to include climate change among America's chief China policy priorities.[1] Making climate change a high priority… Read more
According to Associated Press reports today, the Philippine military has killed Southeast Asia’s most-wanted terrorist...… Read more
According to press reports, the Philippines and the United States are exploring ways to expand U.S. military presence in...… Read more
[caption id="attachment_84343" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R), beside...… Read more
Relations between the United States and the Philippines remain strong, said former President Fidel Ramos of the...… Read more
Barely a week after returning from his relations-repairing state visit to Beijing, which he dubbed a success, President...… Read more
The U.S. has long held that the U.S.–Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty does not extend to Philippine claims in the South...… Read more
Americans do not think about the Philippines as much as they have in eras past. At the end of the 19th century and...… Read more