Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo said the Philippines maintains its independence in pursuing its foreign policy amid the rivalry between the US and China in the Indo-Pacific region.
While Manila must work with its neighbors, like Beijing, Manalo said it also needs to modernize its military alliance with Washington because of its "internal needs" to expand its security.
China has repeatedly criticized the Philippines' position. Manalo said, "We obviously have to work with it."
"If we work with China, we certainly want to make it compatible with our modernizing (our) alliance with the United States," he said at a forum organized by Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. early Tuesday morning (Manila time).
DFA Sec. Enrique Manalo delivers his speech during a forum organized by CSIS in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday morning (Manila time).
Currently, Manila and Beijing enjoy a strong partnership in the fields of agriculture, infrastructure and people-to-people exchanges, among others. But at the same time, the two countries maintain conflicting positions over the South China Sea. China continues to claim the West Philippine Sea as being part of its territory despite the 2016 ruling of the Arbitral Tribunal in favor of the Philippines.
Beijing also accused Washington of dragging Manila "into the abyss of geopolitical strife" as the latter had defended the country against China's illegal activities in the Philippine waters.
But the Philippines is not taking sides and will pursue its own policy with both superpowers.
"So we're doing this simultaneously," Manalo said.
He also cited as example the Philippine-US alliance, which "stands proud in the nexus of relationships and arrangements buttressing the regional security architecture."
"This architecture must maintain trust and confidence among parties, amidst US-China rivalry and other geopolitical pressures," Manalo added.