Philippines ‘will be a target’ in event of nuclear war between China and US, analysts warn

Analysts warn the Philippines faces becoming collateral damage in a potential nuclear showdown between the US and China-Russia-North Korea

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Soldiers prepare a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System a joint exercise with the US in Fort Magsaysay, the Philippines, earlier in August. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:00am, 26 Aug 2024Updated: 10:11am, 26 Aug 2024

The Philippines finds itself in the cross hairs of a potential nuclear showdown between the United States on one side and China, Russia and North Korea, on the other, warn analysts – who are urging President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s administration to recalibrate its foreign policy.

Ominous reports emerged last week that US President Joe Biden is already strategising about how to counter the growing possibility of a joint strike against America by this formidable triad of nuclear powers. And the Philippines, with its strategic location and deep military ties to the US, is widely seen as a likely target should such a cataclysmic conflict erupt.

“Regardless of [whether it’s an] immediate or direct threat, we are going to be affected,” warned Ramon Beleno III, head of the political science and history department at Ateneo De Davao University in the Philippines. “Even if they just hit Taiwan, because of our proximity … we will be a target.”

Manila allowing the US access to its military camps and to deploy a new missile system in the country were aggravating factors, Beleno said.

His dire assessment underscores the precarious position the Philippines now finds itself in. While Washington’s security guarantees have long offered a deterrent against potential aggressors, they have also placed the archipelago squarely in the cross hairs of a superpower showdown with apocalyptic stakes.

Beleno urged Manila to “refrain from taking sides” in this looming clash of nuclear titans. “If there will be a side for us to pick, it will be the side of peace,” he said. “If you use nuclear weapons, it will not just hit your enemy, it will destroy all of us.”