By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-09-03 09:41:38 | Updated at 2026-09-03 10:28:31
54 minutes ago
MANILA – President Donald Trump’s defence and trade policies are prompting the Philippines to look beyond its longstanding alliance with the United States and build ties with non-traditional partners, Manila’s top diplomat said.
“There was a time when you’d only deal with your partner, but it’s really evolving,” Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro said in an interview on Sept 3. “Now, countries are trying to really develop a good number of relationships, and it’s about time.”
The Philippines, a key American ally in Asia, is forging defence and trade pacts with nations across Asia, Europe and South America in view of recent developments involving the US, Lazaro said.
That is happening at a time when US alliances are being tested as Trump uses tariffs and military commitments as leverage.
In August, Trump ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” joint military exercises with South Korea over apparent views Seoul has not provided more support for Washington’s war with Iran.
The US also threatened to pull out from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
Lazaro said what happened in that instance is one example of a “very good way to establish alliances with other countries, and I think that’s what’s happening”.
Trump’s constant threat of levies is also encouraging Manila to diversify economic relations, she said.
“The imposition of tariffs gives us another way,” she said. “We are now concluding a good number of free trade agreements.”
Over the past two years, the Philippines has inked visiting forces agreements with Japan, New Zealand, France and Canada, while it recently kicked off talks with Britain.
Manila, meanwhile, is making progress on trade deals with the European Union, Chile and Canada, she said.
During her trip to South America in August, Lazaro lobbied Brazilian aerospace company Embraer, a contractor to the Philippine Air Force, to set up maintenance and repair operations in the Philippines.
“South America was very revealing to me. In fact, my next trip is to Africa,” she said, adding that the Philippines plans to open an embassy in Ghana.
But while the Philippines is widening its diplomatic relations, its ties with the US remain “very strong”, Lazaro said.
She added that Manila still needs help in modernising its military, building defence infrastructure and strengthening links to the global supply chain.
“I always say, to make us security strong, make us economically strong,” she said.
The US and the Philippines recently marked the 75th anniversary of their Mutual Defense Treaty, with Washington pledging to advance economic ties and Manila vowing to deepen the alliance.
The Philippines remains reliant on American security, especially as it tussles with Beijing due to the two countries’ overlapping claims in the South China Sea.
The Philippines has also historically banked on its defence ties with Washington to secure additional US investment. It has joined the US-led Pax Silica alliance and has agreed to host a 1,600ha artificial intelligence supply chain hub within the Luzon Economic Corridor.
And notwithstanding Lazaro’s sentiments, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has reinvigorated security ties with the US after his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, forged closer ties with China and threatened to terminate Manila’s Visiting Forces Agreement with the US.
The Philippines is also the current chair of the Association of South-east Asian Nations and will host a leaders summit in November in Manila. Lazaro is hoping Trump will attend.
“If President Trump arrives here, then that is already a testimonial, a manifestation of the very close relations” between the US and the Philippines, she said. BLOOMBERG
