The U.S.-Philippine alliance is experiencing a renaissance. Driven by unrelenting pressure from Beijing on Philippine activities in the South China Sea, Manila has pushed forward with Washington on a range of measures to modernize the alliance and give substance to the commitments outlined in the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.
Even as Washington and Manila work to modernize their alliance and solidify its foundations, an emerging vulnerability threatens to undermine its potential: the Philippines’ fragile energy outlook.
Read the full report at CSIS.org:
Energy Security and the U.S.-Philippine Alliance: Strategies for a Secure Transition
Report Highlights
- The Philippines’ fragile energy outlook threatens to undermine efforts to secure its strategic autonomy vis-à -vis an assertive China.
- A tabletop exercise held at CSIS this spring with U.S. and Philippine participants explored the strategic implications of different energy investments and their vulnerability to disruption.
- Bringing online renewable and clean energy sources is an imperative to providing for Philippine energy security in the long term, but fossil fuels will have a critical stabilizing role in the near term.
- The United States can support its ally through enhanced alliance programing, technical assistance, and new approaches to interagency cooperation.
Cover photo: Lisa Marie David/Bloomberg via Getty Images
