The Philippines and ASEAN- Building Synergies Yogendra Kumar107 Abstract The Philippines has been a founding member of the ASEAN which came into existence in 1967 at the height of the Cold War and US’s deep military engagement in Vietnam. With Philippines history of close ties with the US, and being an ally during the Cold War, this Organization came into existence to meet the external and internal ‘Communist’ threat. It charts the history of Philippines-ASEAN relationship, in the evolving geopolitics up to the current period, and the ups and downs of that relationship. These ups and downs are attributable to both a certain ‘insularity’ due to its unique historical background and also the inadequacies of ASEAN’s economic integration and in the protection of its vital national interests. The article examines the geopolitical pressures, as epitomized by the South China Sea tensions, on the ASEAN as it pursues its objectives of maintaining its ‘centrality’ in the regional strategic framework whilst adhering to the ‘ASEAN Way’ of seeking consensus on issues critical to its geopolitical relevance. In that context, the Philippines role and its expectations from this Organization are examined, especially in regard to the intensifying geo-political rivalry in the region. Keywords- Philippines, ASEAN, culture, SEATO, ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus), East Asia Summit, intra- ASEAN trade, South China Sea, Manila Summit The Philippines, a unitary sovereign state and archipelagic country in south-east Asia and consisting of about 7641 islands, is situated in the Western Pacific Ocean bound by the South China Sea in the west, the Philippines Sea in the east and the Celebes Sea in the south-west, sharing maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Vietnam to the west, Palau to the east and Malaysia and Indonesia to the south. It has an area of over 300,000 km² and a population, as of August, 2015, of 100.98 million108. 107 Ambassador Yogendra Kumar is former Indian Ambassador to Philippines and a well-known author. 108 Philippines Statistics Authority, www.psa.gov.ph, accessed on 2 December, 2017. Having multiple ethnic groups, going back to the beginning of history, the Philippines islands have seen successive migrations from the neighboring islands, including transmission of cultural influences from the Indian peninsula via the Indonesian archipelago109; these were Hinduism, Buddhism and, later on, around 1300s, Islam. The country was colonized by the Spanish and, in 1543, the Spanish explorer, Ruy Lopez de Villalobos, named the archipelago Philippines islands (‘Las Islas Filipinas’) in honor of Philip II of Spain. For nearly 300 years it was ruled, indirectly, from Mexico and later, directly, from Spain. Following the American-Spanish war (April- August 1898), the US exercised sovereignty except for a brief period of Japanese occupation during the Second World War. The Philippines became independent in 1946 from the US although its special relationship with the US continues, in different forms, even today which is manifest in special security, economic and cultural relationships as well as in the presence of a large Filipino diaspora in the US. As a result of this history and in contrast with other fellow, ethnically kindred, south-east Asian countries, it is overwhelmingly Christian, primarily Roman Catholic, with other religions forming a small part of its religious fabric. Its Muslim community110, living mostly in the southern territories, belongs to the Sunni faith overwhelmingly and different sections of the Muslim community have, since the time of the Spanish colonization, been frequently in conflict with the central armed forces; most recent instance has been the Abu Sayyaf/’Islamic State’ fight with the Philippines Armed Forces over the control for the southern Marawi city which ended in October, 2017, in the victory for the latter. Although generously endowed with abundant agricultural resources and bio-diversity, agriculture accounts for 14% of GDP and 30% of the labor force, the manufacturing sector employs around 14% of the workforce accounting for 30% of GDP whereas the services sector accounts for 47% of the workforce and 56% of GDP. In 2016, the estimated GDP (nominal) was US$ 305 billion111. Its primary exports include semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment, garments, copper products, 109 According to Filipino historian, Ambeth Ocampo, the word ‘Manila’, the name of country's national capital, is a combination of Filipino and Sanskrit words meaning 'There is indigo (Sanskrit word is ‘neel’ for 'Indigo'). The earliest archaeological evidence in the country, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, dated 21 April, 900 AD, speaks of a polity using the Saka Calendar which is the official calendar of India today. 110 They are called ‘Moros’, a name given by the Spanish conquerors on account of their religion like the Muslim community on the Iberian Peninsula which was, in that historical period, mostly from Morocco. 111 International Monetary Fund, Country Report No. 17/334, www.imf.org/~/media/Files/Publications/CR/2017/cr17334.ashx, accessed on 3 December, 2017. petroleum products, coconut oil, fruits et cetera; its major export partners, in 2016, were Japan (20.8%), US (15.5%), Hong Kong (11.7%), China (11%), Singapore (6.6%) and Germany (4.1%)112. Its imports include electronic products, mineral fuels, machinery and transport equipment, iron and steel, textile fabrics, grains, chemicals, plastic et cetera; its major import partners, in 2016, were China (17.3%), Japan (11.1%), US (8.4%), Thailand (7.3%), South Korea (6.1%), Singapore (6.1%), and Indonesia (5.1%)113. The economy is heavily reliant upon remittances from overseas Filipinos surpassing even foreign direct investment; as of 2014114, overseas Filipino workers, dispersed practically all over the world but concentrated in the US, Middle East and Southeast Asia, contribute 10% to its GDP making them the third largest contributors in this category, in dollar terms, in the world after India and China. These broad national features continue to determine the country’s external outlook. PHILIPPINES & ASEAN – A HISTORICAL ACCOUNT The Philippines historical legacy has led to a close relationship with the US and the other US allies, both in the region and outside. Although the US military bases, during the period of the Cold War, have ended, under a new arrangement US forces ‘rotate’ through certain bases under the current US policy of ‘rebalance’ against China in the region. During the Cold War period, its approach towards its neighbours was based on countering Soviet and Chinese influence through credible US military presence; the complications with the neighbours have been on account of its Exclusive Economic Zone claims, sovereignty claims over the Spratlys land features and dispute over Sabah state in northern Borneo (Malaysia)115. ASEAN, formed in August 1967 by the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, existed concurrently with the US-led anti-communist alliance called the South-East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) and had a similar anti-communist orientation aiming for cooperation in the economic, social, cultural and technical fields. The ASEAN, in its early years, espoused the region to be a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality to ward off superpower rivalry; at its first summit, in Bali in February 1976 in the 112 Central Intelligence Agency. November 2017. The World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rp.html. Accessed on 3 December, 2017 113 Ibid. 114 The World Bank Group, Migration and Remittances Fact Book 2016. Third Edition. https://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934- 1199807908806/4549025-1450455807487/Factbookpart1.pdf, accessed on 2 December, 2017. 115 Rinn-Sup Shinn. 1984. “Government and Politics”, in Philippines, a country study, edited by Frederica M. Bunge. p. 224. Washington: The American University. aftermath of the communist victories in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos following US withdrawal from Vietnam, these five countries signed a treaty of amity and cooperation and agreed on other measures for regional cooperation116. Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia in 1979 further contributed to the cohesion of the ASEAN; that sense of common purpose found its validation in 1987 when Brunei, barely a week into its independence, became the grouping’s sixth member. With the end of the Cold War in 1991, the Cambodian occupation issue was resolved paving the way for the admission of Vietnam into ASEAN in 1995. The fellow communist country, Laos joined in 1997 along with – until then, under a ‘bamboo curtain’ of its own – Myanmar, followed by Cambodia in 1999. That is its current composition with pending membership applications from Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste. As the Cold War ended leading to diminished interest and presence of the US in South-East Asia, the resultant power vacuum began to be filled in, institutionally speaking, by a structured organization like the ASEAN, a process facilitated by the membership of the regional communist countries which were the very cause for the organization to come into existence in the first place; it was also part of a global pattern of the growth and strengthening of regional organizations in different parts the world with the US as the global hegemon. Its institutional evolution phase also provided an early experience – and, a certain comfort level – for China, already transformed post-Deng Xiaoping reforms and, even, feeling international pressure on account of the Tiananmen atrocity (1989), to be an active player in regional multilateralism. Emerging as a leading regional voice on security, political and economic issues, ASEAN developed a sophisticated internal structure, close dialogue partnerships balancing between major powers and engaging with countries and organizations around the world. Crystallizing a distinct ASEAN identity – and, the ‘ASEAN Way’ of dispute resolution – the organization’s external policy stance is to underline its centrality in the regional structures in the Asia- Pacific and to it being in the ‘driving seat’ in the international efforts to shape them.