Washington’s global pivot toward the Indo-Pacific is inevitably leading to the build-up of United States’ forces in the Philippines, which officials say could sharpen Manila’s deterrence capabilities against growing Chinese assertiveness in the West Philippine Sea.
US presence has risen sharply in recent years, reversing the downturn during the Duterte administration’s policy shift to Beijing.
Under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., ties warmed again, with Manila granting Washington access to four additional bases in 2023 under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). These sites joined five earlier locations approved during the Aquino presidency.
“We have seen a shift from the European and Middle Eastern theaters to the Indo-Pacific. This would naturally mean more forces in the region,” Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, said in an interview.
The alliance with the US has extended beyond basing rights. In July 2024, US officials pledged $500 million to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Coast Guard.
Manila has also hosted deployments of US missile systems such as Typhon and NMESIS in Luzon — moves Beijing protested as undermining regional peace.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. welcomed American support, calling every peso or dollar spent on hardening defenses “a plus factor, whether it be China or anyone” that must be kept in check.
Capability gaps and modernization
Trinidad stressed that the alliance is not aimed at any one country. He described US presence as a way to accelerate the AFP’s modernization and close critical capability gaps.
“It is primarily for the development of the Armed Forces — the Navy, the Air Force and the Army — to jump start any capability gaps that we see,” Trinidad said, who also serves as Navy Inspector General.
He noted the assistance covers training, information exchanges, and systems development across all branches. “We are leveraging on this to hasten our modernization program,” he said.
Strategic assessments
Independent voices argue Manila must take fuller advantage of the alliance.
In a study for the Stratbase Institute, retired Rear Admiral Rommel Jude Ong urged the Philippines to host US missile systems to counter China’s escalation dominance.
He cited the need to build sea denial and air capabilities, expand combined patrols, and increase multilateral naval exercises.
Ong also pressed for enhanced defenses in northern Luzon, including the Bashi Channel and Luzon Strait, warning that Taiwan’s loss as a buffer would expose the Philippines to direct Chinese expansion.
“Populating these islands with the US Marine Corps’ NMESIS batteries will hopefully disrupt any plans by China to ingress Taiwan through its southern underbelly,” Ong said.
He also flagged limited budgets, recommending unmanned systems for surveillance and combat while leveraging US support for missile deployments.
Alliance under strain and test
Ong described the visit of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last March as a “shot in the arm” for the alliance, noting his call for “peace through strength” and collective deterrence in the South China Sea.
For now, the Philippines walks a careful line: the country’s needs US assistance to bolster defense, while exposed to Beijing’s protests over deployments on its soil. Its true measure lies in deterring aggression while avoiding escalation — the litmus test moving forward.
