By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-03-14 21:41:47 | Updated at 2025-03-15 00:35:52
3 hours ago
Shortly after the dramatic diplomatic showdown between the Trump administration and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, the Philippines’ ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez warned: “We have to all be ready for that type of situation … It may be some other president in the future. But at the end of the day, each country now has to be ready to be able to beef up its defence, beef up its economic security.”
The world watched as President Donald Trump publicly berated a smaller ally before abruptly pausing US defence aid and intelligence-sharing with the embattled Ukrainian forces, only to resume it a week later after Kyiv endorsed an interim US-proposed ceasefire.
Other top Filipino strategic thinkers expressed similar sentiments to Romualdez’s. “At the end of the day, we rely on ourselves,” Brigadier General Michael Logico, a deputy commander who oversees the largest Philippine-US annual military exercises, wrote on Facebook. “When our interests match, we maximise and take the ball as far as we can. When our interest diverges from theirs, we consider other options. Besides, the US is not the only player in the region.”
The spirited remarks from top Philippine officials, especially those who have directly worked with Americans, is particularly poignant given the Southeast Asian nation’s exceptionally good relationship with the Trump administration. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has exempted the Philippines from the ongoing pause in US overseas aid, while top Pentagon and National Security Council officials have not imposed any defence spending quotas on Manila so far.
The Philippines realises it cannot fully or solely rely on its treaty ally. At the same time, given its limited military capacity, it cannot afford to fully alienate Washington.
The Philippines must steadily build up its diplomatic capital and strategic autonomy over time by cultivating fruitful ties with other regional powers. Above all, Manila must keep relations with China on an even keel if it seeks to avoid direct conflict amid profound geopolitical uncertainty.
