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South China Sea: how a Trump win could reshape the US-Philippines alliance
- Manila’s ambassador to the US and most analysts believe Trump would maintain the strategic alliance to counter Beijing
- However, some experts said major shifts were possible, including the possibility of Trump pulling out US troops
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The Philippine ambassador to the United States has reassured that bilateral relations between the two countries would remain strong should Donald Trump win the US presidential election in November, a view supported by many analysts who see it aligning with Trump’s aggressive stance towards China.
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However, some experts cautioned that there could be major shifts under a second Trump administration, including troop withdrawals and changes to mutual defence agreements, underscoring the unpredictability of Trump’s potential policy agenda and its impact on strategic alliances in the Indo-Pacific.
Ambassador Manuel Romualdez said on Tuesday that the results of the elections between President Joe Biden and Trump would hardly have an effect on bilateral ties between Manila and Washington, noting that Biden has “only continued” his predecessor’s foreign policy towards the Indo-Pacific region and the South China Sea.
“We are confident that there will be no new major changes,” Romualdez said, as quoted by the Manila-based Daily Tribune newspaper.
Trump’s administration rejected China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea delineated by Beijing’s historical nine-dash line, which includes much of the West Philippines Sea (WPS) – Manila’s term for the section of the South China Sea that defines its maritime territory and includes its exclusive economic zone.
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The former president’s administration also promised to defend the Philippines from any “armed attack” in the South China Sea based upon the two country’s mutual defence commitments, a promise that has been reiterated by Biden’s administration.
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