This article examines how two Philippine presidents took into account the ongoing geo-strategic competition between the U.S. The paper concludes that maritime security will remain the Philippines’ priority concern way into the third decade of the 21st century. Faced with this predicament, the Philippines has resorted to forging new security partnerships with the United States and Japan, two major naval powers in East Asia. However, slow-paced and hampered by scant resources, the naval build-up will hardly deter China’s encroachment on the Philippine maritime territory. With China’s naval expansion in the South China Sea, the Philippine government has eased up its counter-insurgency/counter-terrorism campaign and has vigorously pursued instead the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) particularly in developing the deterrence capability of the Philippine Navy (PN).

How do strategic changes affect small powers? How do small powers adjust to strategic changes? This article addresses these two questions as it examines the strategic shift in the Philippines’ defense policy from internal to maritime security. Only time will tell if the allies can fully develop a formidable deterrent posture to constrain China’s expansionist moves in the South China Sea.

airpower which can be projected deep into China’s near sea defense zone. This presence in five Philippine Air Force (PAF) bases marks the return of U.S. Air Force (USAF) maintains a small contingent of aircraft and personnel in Philippine territory.

In January 2016, the Philippine Supreme Court ruled in favor of the EDCA setting in motion the deployment of American forces in the Philippines. The two allies discussed the terms and conditions from September 2013 to March 2014 and signed the agreement in late April 2014. The Philippines negotiated this pact because of its limited defense capabilities and China’s heavy-handed handling of the 2012 Scarborough Shoal stand-off. Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) in terms of the U.S’ utilization of the five agreed locations in the Philippines. This article examines the geostrategic implications of the 2014 Philippine-U.S.

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