Fantastic 5: Europe, India, new allies

A lot has been going on in the Philippines these days. In fact, our country is now in the vortex of global geopolitics like never before. Think of the latest edition of the Balikatan exercises, which was unprecedented on many fronts. In terms of size, yes, the number of participants—reaching around 17,000—was just as big as last year’s. But this shows that mega-drills are the new normal for the Philippines and its allies.

And then there are the state-of-the-art weapons systems, with the United States deploying the Typhon missile launcher for the first time to the Indo-Pacific region. The newly developed US Army’s mid-range capability ground-based missile system has a range of 1,600 kilometers, placing parts of China and all those illegal military facilities built on artificial islands across the South China Sea within its range.

Eager to play down the significance of the deployment in light of China’s predictable diplomatic whining, Philippine authorities have suggested that the much-vaunted missile launcher would not be directly involved in the drills. But there will be island defense drills involving the legendary M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, which has done wonders for Ukraine in its valiant resistance to Russia.

Crucially, the Balikatan exercises this year have a more expansive and consequential geographic orientation. On one hand, there will be drills on the northern shores of the Philippines, reportedly involving the new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement sites in Cagayan province. During the exercises, allied forces will focus on defending the northernmost Philippine military bases facing Taiwan. As the ever-vivacious Col. Michael Logico, a spokesman for the Balikatan exercises, wryly put it: “If someone takes [them], we [will] take [them] back.” He didn’t name China, but we all know the point of reference.

Arguably, the biggest story in this year’s exercises is the Philippines’ decision to, for the first time in recent memory, conduct drills outside our 12 nautical miles territorial sea—directly challenging China’s baseless claims across the South China Sea. This time, we were not only joined by Americans, namely United States Navy’s USS Harpers Ferry, but also, in another first, the French Navy’s flagship warship, Vendémiaire. To top it all, French Ambassador Marie Fontanel also confirmed that formal negotiations over a Philippine-France Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) pact will kickstart in the near future, laying down the foundation for institutionalized and expansive defense cooperation.

Mind you, France’s Naval Group has also offered to supply us with our first-ever submarines as part of a broader package that includes basic infrastructure as well as technical capacity-building for our emerging Philippine Submarine Force. Shortly before the Balikatan exercises kicked off, India finally delivered, after years-long delays, the supersonic BrahMos missile defense system—a building block of our emerging deterrence strategy in the South China Sea and beyond. France and India—along with Germany, Britain, and South Korea—are part of the “Fantastic Five” group of new strategic partners for the Philippines. They have not only backed our legitimate claims and sovereign rights in the South China Sea but they are also directly contributing to our military modernization program.

Over the past decade, South Korea has quietly provided us with our most modern fighter jets and warships, while Germany and Britain have been involved in various forms of technical capacity-building, including in the realm of cyberwarfare. If anything, cultivating strategic ties with a “Magnificent Seven” group of new strategic partners—including Spain and Sweden, which have also offered advanced weapons systems—seems like the best course of action for the Philippines.

The Philippines can pursue RAAs deals with all these seven nations to institutionalize our new network of global partnerships. It goes without saying that Australia, with whom we have a Visiting Forces Agreement, and Japan, our top economic partner now pursuing its own RAA with us, remain as part of our “Big Three” allies along with America. The reality, however, is that the Philippines can’t over-rely on a narrow range of partners, especially since both the US and Japan have global obligations while Australia is undergoing an exorbitant defense build-up. Cultivating ties with a broad coalition of like-minded powers would not only accelerate our military modernization but also enhance our strategic autonomy and steady emergence as a middle power in the 21st century.

rheydarian@inquirer.com.ph