Needed: Abrogation of PH-US Mutual Defense Treaty

THREATS by some quarters to unleash military countermeasures on a giant neighbor not only seem surreal but also becloud the country’s peaceful resolution approach. Efforts at building at least a minimum credible deterrent capability have always been a part of the country’s South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) action plan, but the military option can but be a means of last resort. Until that finality, it is best seen as a supporting tool of diplomacy, as something already subsumed in the diplomatic track albeit in a silent mode: it is the big stick while speaking softly. Anyway, the Philippines is a long way from putting its military act together in a credible manner.

The problem with the Philippines’ approach to the South China Sea challenge is that its military aspect is not anchored on the Philippines’ own capabilities but rides on the “ironclad” security guarantee under the Philippines-US Mutual Defense Treaty. The brighter other side of this challenge, of the proverbial Chinese coin, could be the possible opportunities that await the country’s awakening to the need to upgrade its own armed defense services, which have suffered from neglect from, among other factors, focusing on local insurgencies, and which furthermore today face new security concerns such as terrorism sans borders and massive natural disasters brought by climate change. Also on that other side might hopefully be the realization of the need to reexamine the country’s mutual defense arrangements with the United States for their validity and relevance to the country’s needs and interests.