Republic of the Philippines Case Study

Abstract

This chapter introduces the Philippine case study. It provides a list of features in the South China Sea that the Philippines controls and explains the relevance of the South China Sea to the Philippines. Sino-Philippine disputes in the South China Sea are assessed to provide context for the Philippines’ policy choices. In particular, it focuses on Sino-Philippine clashes in the South China Sea since the 1990s and how these events have galvanized the military modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The chapter provides an overview of the modernization program and the key acquisitions made, contending that while many improvements have been made, the AFP remains ill-equipped to defend its claims. It concludes by providing an account of Japan–Philippine relations and how mutual threat assessment in the South China Sea has prompted a deepening of economic and military cooperation between the two.