THE PHILIPPINES AS A SMALL STATE: ASSESSING ITS EXTERNAL BEHAVIOUR AND FOREIGN POLICY IN BILATERAL INTERACTIONS WITH SMALL STATES ______________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science at the University of Canterbury by ANDREA CHLOE WONG 2019 ABSTRACT This study puts the spotlight on small states that has long been overlooked in the field of International Relations. The limited academic discussion is quite paradoxical, considering that the world is for the most part made up of small states. The few scholarly literature on small states has mostly focused on its definition and classification, vulnerabilities in the international system, or interactions with great powers, among others. This study therefore seeks to veer away from these themes and instead focus on the importance of small states, their power potential, and their engagement with fellow small states. In particular, it examines the external behaviour of a small state towards its peers, and analyses the foreign policy that provides the rationale behind its behaviour. Essentially, its research questions shift focus away from the power disparity between small states and great or middle powers, towards the power dynamics between well-matched small states. Thus, this study addresses the following questions: How does a small state deal with its fellow small states amidst political conflicts or bilateral issues? What are the factors that shape its behaviour towards its counterparts? Why does a small state act ‘smaller’ or ‘weaker’ in relation to other small states? Or in some cases, why does it act ‘greater’ or stronger’ compared to its peers? To answer these questions, this study features the Philippines as a small state since it shares common characteristics with others. It assesses it behaviour and policy, and evaluates whether it projected a weak or strong behaviour relative to other small states. In doing so, this paper presents case studies highlighting the Philippines’ interactions with Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Kuwait. This study’s focus on the Philippines and its relations with other small states, is considered to be an interesting analysis on the power play between states of approximate material capabilities. It is hoped that such analysis will provide substantive insights for other small states in managing their external behaviours and in formulating their foreign policies. These insights aim to be utilized as pertinent preliminary guidelines in forecasting and rationalizing a small state’s behaviour, which can be considered in understanding other small states. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 6 The Case for Small States in International Relations: A Look at the Philippines as a Small State CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 18 Studies on Small States in International Relations CHAPTER THREE: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 35 External Behaviours and Foreign Policy of a Small State CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY AND OPERATIONALIZATION OF CASE STUDIES: 71 The Philippines’ Behaviour and Interactions with Small States CHAPTER FIVE: CASE ANALYSIS 133 The Philippines’ Foreign Policy Determinants and Explanatory Factors CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION 166 The Philippines’ External Behaviour and Foreign Policy: Important Insights for Small States REFERENCES 188 2 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Summary of the characteristics of Weak or Strong Behaviour of a Small State based on Issue Power Balance and Issue Outcome Table 2: Summary of foreign policy’s explanatory factors, the theoretical perspectives linking policy and behaviour, and the behavioural dyads of external behaviour of a small state Table 3: Inventory of Behavioural Dyads of Situation-Based Attitude/Approach and Actor- Based Action/ Reaction Table 4: Criteria for Weak or Strong Behaviours based on Issue Power Balance and Issue Outcome Table 5: Weak and Strong Behaviours based on Issue Power Balance and Issue Outcome Resulting in Neutrality Table 6: The Philippines’ Initial Estimation of STRONG Behaviour towards Taiwan over the Deportation Case Table 7: The Philippines’ External Behaviours Affecting its STRONG Behavioural Point of Reference towards Taiwan over the Deportation Case Table 8: The Philippines’ Initial Estimation of NEUTRAL Behaviour towards Taiwan over the Fisherman’s Death Table 9: The Philippines’ External Behaviours affecting its NEUTRAL Behavioural Point of Reference towards Taiwan over the Fisherman’s Death Table 10: The Philippines’ Initial Estimation of WEAK Behaviour towards Malaysia over the Sabah Standoff Table 11: The Philippines’ External Behaviours Affecting its WEAK Behavioural Point of Reference towards Malaysia over the Sabah Standoff Table 12: The Philippines’ Initial Estimation of STRONG Behaviour towards Indonesia on Veloso’s Case Table 13: The Philippines’ External Behaviours affecting its STRONG Behavioural Point of Reference towards Indonesia on Veloso’s Case Table 14: The Philippines’ Initial Estimation of NEUTRAL Behaviour towards Kuwait Regarding Overseas Filipino Workers Table 15: The Philippines’ External Behaviours Affecting its NEUTRAL Behavioural Point of Reference towards Kuwait Regarding Overseas Filipino Workers 3 Table 16: Summary of the Philippines’ Initial Estimation of Behaviour, External Behaviours, and Overall Assessment of its Behaviour towards other Small Table 17: Leadership Determinants of Aquino and Duterte Table 18: Political Determinants of Philippine Foreign Policy Table 19: Bilateral Determinants of Philippine Foreign Policy Table 20: Summary of the Philippines’ External Behaviours and the External Factors of its Foreign Policy that Weaken or Strengthen its Behaviour 4 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Evaluative Measures that determines a Small State’s Weak or Strong Behaviour Relative to Another Small State Figure 2: The Impact of Discrete External Behaviours to the Weakness and Strength of Small State Behaviour Figure 3: Foreign Policy Determinants and its Explanatory Factors Figure 4: Theoretical Perspectives Linking External Behaviour and Foreign Policy of a Small State Figure 5: Summary of this Study’s Conceptual Framework: External Behaviours and Foreign Policy of a Small State in its Interactions with Other Small States Figure 6: Illustrated model of a behavioural spectrum to determine the overall behaviour of a small state Figure 7: Illustrated model of a behavioural spectrum with a WEAK overall behaviour of a small state Figure 8: Illustrated model of a behavioural spectrum with a STRONG overall behaviour of a small state Figure 9: Illustrated model of a behavioural spectrum with a SEMI-WEAK overall behaviour of a small state Figure 10: Illustrated model of a behavioural spectrum with a SEMI-STRONG overall behaviour of a small state Figure 11: Illustrated model of a behavioural spectrum with a NEUTRAL behavioural point of reference resulting in a SEMI-WEAK or SEMI-STRONG overall behaviour of a small state Figure 12: The Behavioural Spectrum of the Philippines’ Resulting in an Overall SEMI-STRONG Behaviour towards Taiwan over the Deportation Case Figure 13: The Behavioural Spectrum of the Philippines’ Resulting in an Overall SEMI-WEAK Behaviour towards Taiwan over the Fisherman’s Death Figure 14: The Behavioural Spectrum of the Philippines’ Resulting in an Overall WEAK Behaviour towards Malaysia over the Sabah Standoff Figure 15: The Behavioural Spectrum of the Philippines’ Resulting in an Overall STRONG Behaviour towards Indonesia on Veloso’s Case Figure 16: The Behavioural Spectrum of the Philippines’ Resulting in an Overall SEMI-STRONG Behaviour towards Kuwait Regarding Overseas Filipino Workers 5 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION The Case for Small States in International Relations: A Look at the Philippines as a Small State “The Philippines is afraid of China. It will invoke the “One China Policy” in order to appease the Chinese. Whatever problems the Philippines will have with Taiwan will be fixed later on, because it is just a small country.”1 This statement by a Filipino government official refers to the Philippines’ deportation of Taiwanese nationals to mainland China. It essentially reveals the contrasting perceptions on the power and influence of the two countries. On the one hand, China is deemed as more superior, to which the Philippines is cautious of. On the other hand, Taiwan is viewed as less important in the scheme of the Philippines’ foreign policy priorities. These observations result in different behaviours of the Philippines--- with China, it acts ‘weak,’ but with Taiwan, it acts ‘strong.’ This provides an interesting case on how it interacts with a great power and a small state. Despite its relatively large geographic size as an archipelago, the Philippines as a small state is commonly viewed as weak, vulnerable, and defenceless because of its limited economic resources and weak military that generally highlight the common notion of ‘smallness’ in International Relations. This is especially evident in relations between great powers and small states with an apparent power asymmetry. But what about the power play between small states with approximately similar capabilities? Based on the Filipino officials’ statement, its perception on Taiwan seemingly evokes an impression of ‘strength’ for the Philippines. Using the case of the Philippines, this study seeks to expand and deepen understanding on the small states, which is generally overlooked in the field of International Relations. This is mainly because the focus in