EVEN while the Philippines is trying to put together a foreign policy that takes into consideration the realities on the ground, and a national security strategy that hopefully redefines the country as more maritime than archipelagic, the need for countervailing forces in the light of China’s aggression is a step towards maintaining the tenuous balance in the region. These countervailing forces are Japan, ASEAN and possibly South Korea as well as India. These countries are in the continent, the region and can offer fast and immediate response under a worst case scenario.
Japan is crucial and hedging while ASEAN is recalibrating due to the integration of the member-states to be known as the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by December 2020.
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