I HAVE written several articles on the importance of creating alliances as a means of safeguarding our relative sovereignty, and have emphasized the importance of regional Asian allies.
Last week, for example, I wrote about the importance of considering what an Asian NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) would look like and who its member states are likely to be.
However, the Philippines need not confine ourselves to Asia and that is because we are not an exclusively Asian country.
Unlike other Asian nations, we are relative new comers to the regional history. No doubt there are those who will proudly point out our diverse pre-colonial cultures, or our association with the Sri Vijayan and Majapahit empires as well as the various sultanates in the region. But the truth is our pre-colonial history pales in comparison with our neighbors, most of which boasted empires.
Like it or not, the Philippines became a thing when the Spanish came, and they did more than just colonize. They also connected us to the first truly global financial system.
Not only were we just a territory that happened to exist on Asia, we were also connected to South America, Mexico and ultimately to Europe. Thanks to the Spanish, Manila had become a cosmopolitan city and the Philippines a major trading hub that connected the Americas with Asia.
For good or ill, we share certain more cultural, linguistic and religious ties with South American countries than with some of our ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors.
I, for one, would lean into that legacy.
We should build up our economic ties with them, and perhaps later reform political and cultural ties as well. Aside from the benefits such ties may offer, they can also function as a hedge should things head south in our immediate neighborhood. For example, it could help in the event that the ASEAN region suffer economic problems.
Renewing old ties will also help diversify our strategic options. They may not look like it now, but Argentina, Brazil and certain Latin American countries, if they follow the Bukele model, can be major allies.
If South-East Asia becomes too messy (a possibility in the future)then we should look east./PN
