Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

 
The Philippines keeps stirring up tensions, exacerbating the situation in the South China Sea - all while enjoying the US backing, especially in the form of military aid.
The US pledged $8 million in new funding to support the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in late October. The funds will aid in modernizing the PCG infrastructure enhancement, training program development, resource acquisition and management planning. This follows the US announcement in July that it will provide $500 million in military funding to the Philippines. The Philippines also reportedly intends to buy intermediate-range missile launchers from the US.

Behind these moves is an undeniable fact: Since Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr took office, security cooperation between the US and the Philippines has become increasingly task-oriented and checklist-driven. The current Philippine government has largely completed its policy adjustment to strengthen the country's strategic alignment with the US.

Since the Cold War, the US and the Philippines have had different interactions, including struggles, in their military and security cooperation, but three points have remained consistent. 

First, regardless of which political party is in power, the US does not want, nor will it allow, the Philippines' foreign policy to deviate from America's strategic direction, making it difficult for the Philippines to achieve true independence in foreign policy. 

Second, the extensive defense ties form the core network of the US-Philippines alliance, with the US using military funding to cultivate a large pro-American faction within the Philippines. 

Third, military funding is a "remote control" that the US holds to steer the direction of the US-Philippines alliance. Through adjusting the level of military funding, the US forces the Philippines to adopt foreign policies that align with American interests.

From the US perspective, increasing military aid to the Philippines strengthens America's influence and dominance over Philippine foreign policy, while also deepening the Philippines' dependence on the US. This creates a dynamic: The donor "dominates" the relationship, while the recipient is "subordinated" or made to follow the donor's lead.

The core objective of US aid to the Philippines has shifted in line with changes in America's national security strategy. In the current context, the US increasingly views military aid to the Philippines as a tool to intervene in the South China Sea affairs and advance its competition with China. In reality, the US is using its financial resources to set up a system in the Philippines that provides real-time information and monitoring capabilities, allowing the US to track and observe China's naval and air activities in the nearby areas.

History has shown that US foreign military aid does not lead to fair or peaceful resolutions of regional or global crises, yet US defense giants always profit from arms sales and military aid programs. Part of the US fundings pledged to the Philippines remain in the US, and some ultimately find their way back into American pockets, leaving only a small portion appearing in the Philippine accounts.

On the one hand, although the equipment is delivered to the Philippines, the financing and production processes occur in factories across the US. This is precisely why many US lawmakers are keen to maintain and strengthen such aid, as these funds ultimately flow into states across the country and defense companies in their own constituencies.

On the other hand, US aid to the Philippines includes not only equipment and supplies but also training the Philippine military, enhancing interoperability, strengthening logistics systems and guiding military reforms. 

To address these issues, the US frequently relies on private military firms, defense contractors and non-profit organizations to bypass the limitations of official actions and make up for the shortcomings of government agencies. These aid funds ultimately flow to US commercial, technology and consulting firms, as well as NGOs registered in the US. 

As the world's largest provider of military aid, the US military assistance to the Philippines is essentially designed to serve its own strategic interests. It is a tool the US uses to control the US-Philippines alliance in order to maintain its hegemonic position. The US has been stoking tensions over disputes in the South China Sea, attempting to drag Southeast Asia into the path of bloc politics and factional confrontation, which is a dangerous direction that deserves caution. 

The Marcos Jr government, by binding itself to the US war machine at the expense of the Philippines' independence and national dignity, is truly a troubling scenario.

The author is deputy director of the Institute of Maritime Law and Policy at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn