The Fragility of the Philippines in the Context of Increasing China-U.S. Rivalry in the Western Pacific

Abstract

The situation in Southeast Asia is of concern not only to the countries in the region, but also to the world’s great powers. The growing economic and military power of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and its rivalry with the United States (U.S.) are perceived as disruption of the regional status quo. Smaller Southeast Asian states try to secure their position in the changing international environment. These countries include the Philippines, which faces many internal and external security threats. The situation is worsened by the fact that the Philippines is considered by scholars to be a weak and fragile state. The article attempts to elucidate the issue of the Philippines’ fragile state and its influence on the country’s position in the age of growing China-U.S. competition. Moreover, the study tries to answer the question of why the Philippines earned the reputation of a fragile state. The article uses on content analysis of existing literature plus the data from readily accessible sources, and it mostly employs descriptive data analysis methodology.