MANILA, Philippines – The truism in Philippine politics is that it’s all about addition.
The line, attributed to the late senator Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez, both explains and gives permission to a political circus that only gets worse (or more entertaining), the closer you get to election day.
Electoral drama been slowly unfolding in the national arena — the country’s most prominent dynastic siblings, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his manang (older sister) Senator Imee Marcos apparently won’t be on the same team in 2025, with the latter announcing her pullout from the administration slate just two days after its big reveal. Granted, Senator Marcos’ move is anything but a surprise. She’s made no secret of her disapproval for many of her ading’s policies, foreign policy included — but I digress.
At the local level, the circus is almost always more intense and more, well, amusing. Before you can even say “unity,” you’d find that the best of friends just two years ago had already turned bitter rivals, just in time for 2025.
Manang Imee aside, the Marcos administration has, to nobody’s surprise, consolidated most of the country’s biggest parties — from the Lakas-CMD, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, Nacionalista Party, Nationalist People’s Coalition, and National Unity Party into the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas coalition.
Outside our borders, the Marcos administration seems to be keen on building the broadest coalition it can muster, especially as it tries to maneuver against and around China.
Over the weekend, New Zealand, for the first time, joined multilateral joint drills in Philippine waters.
HMNZS Aotearoa, among Wellington’s largest navy vessels, joined the the Philippines’ BRP Antonio Luna (FF151), BRP Emilio Jacinto (PS35), the United States’ USS Howard (DDG83), Australia’s HMAS Sydney (D48), and Japan’s JS Sazanami (DD113) in the West Philippine Sea, areas under the control of the Philippines’ Western Command.
It was also the first time that five militaries sailed and held exercises in the West Philippine Sea together, making it the biggest Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) to date. Previous iterations included Canada in a joint sail. Bilateral versions have also been held in the past, with the Philippines joining nations like the United States, Japan, Australia, and even France in sailing the West Philippine Sea.
For the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the MMCA is a “demonstration of international collaboration.” The usual buzz phrases pepper the AFP’s post-exercise media release — “interoperability,” “upholding the right to freedom of navigation and overflight,” “respect for maritime rights under international law,” and, of course, upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Coalition of like-minded… states?
The joint sails alone do not serve as a deterrent to an increasingly belligerent maritime power like China. But their conduct does send a clear, albeit restrained signal: that nations like the US, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand are more than willing to go beyond statements of support — issued by their embassies or home offices — in backing the Philippines’ efforts to defend its sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.
China’s response to the latest MMCA? Their own maritime drills around Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc, a feature in the West Philippine Sea under the Philippines’ Northern Luzon Command. China has controlled access to the shoal since the 2012 standoff with the Philippines, after it did not honor a US-brokered agreement to pull out of the shoal at the same time.
The coalition that the Philippines is trying to champion goes beyond immediate concerns in the West Philippine Sea and its pushback against Beijing.
Manila will surely expect their support when it guns for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council for a term covering the years 2027 to 2028. Its bid for the seat was among Secretary Enrique Manalo’s priorities when he flew to New York last week for the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
“The Philippines is a trusted partner, innovative pathfinder and committed peacemaker. We bring experience, depth and steadfastness in working with the international community to address common global challenges,” said Manalo in a speech before the General Debates.
Marcos had first announced the bid for the seat when he spoke before the same General Debates in 2022.
Most reckon that the Philippines has a good chance at getting the seat against, say, Kyrgyzstan, which is also vying for a non-permanent spot for 2027-2028. A real concern, however, is if a powerful country like, say, China, tries to actively campaign against Manila for its UN Security Council bid.
In a way, as far as the Philippines under a second Marcos president is concerned, international relations are about addition. It goes from strengthening existing ties with allies and partners, finding new potential friends, and finding points of cooperation and understanding with Beijing, even as its coast guard rams and harasses our ships at sea.
Beyond a numbers game
That coalition — or at least parts of it — gathered on the sidelines of the UNGA, for ministerial meeting on “Maritime Safety and Security in the Asia-Pacific.” The side meeting, according to a post from State Secretary Antony Blinken, touched on how “adherence to international law is critical for maritime safety and security in the Asia-Pacific.” Neither the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, nor meeting hosts the United States or the Netherlands have issued statements on the meeting.
Philippine Ambassador to the United States and presidential cousin Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez earlier referred to the meeting as a “summit” that would cover how countries are to “talk some sense” into China.
The Ambassador’s public announcement of the summit — and his framing — wasn’t part of the original plan, it turned out. Ministers had wanted it low-key, perhaps in an effort not to upset China but also to make it easier to record an attendance that goes beyond the usual “like-minded partners.”
Politics — here and abroad — is absolutely about addition, although addition for the sake of obviously is not the ideal. Trite as it sounds, there are shared values to think of, and shared concerns to address.
In the Philippines, unfortunately, values are often flouted and used as mere cover to coalesce. In the 2025 elections, it’ll ultimately be about numbers and might.
But it’s hoped that the international ties that Manila is forging — with the traditional (United States, Japan, Australia, among others) and the emerging (New Zealand, Canada, France, the European Union, even Germany and South Korea) — are not just driven by numbers but by a shared vision of keeping a “rules-based order” and making sure that the rules work for even the smallest and most powerless. – Rappler.com
