A call to arms: Building a PH defense industry
Credit to Author: KATRINA QUIROLGICO| Date: Thu, 05 Sep 2019 16:23:13 +0000
IN high society, it is said that one is only as good as one’s phone book. The same is true of nations: one is only as strong as one’s allies.
Earlier this week, President Duterte returned from his fifth state visit to China. In it, many deals were inked: a memorandum of understanding on higher education, another with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, a renminbi-denominated loan facility with the China International Development Cooperation Agency, another with the EXIM Bank of China, and an iron and steel facility with China’s HBIS Group to be built in Lemery, Batangas — to name a few. It seems China and the Philippines are back to being bosom buddies.
Of late, it did not seem that way, at least from Beijing. Two weeks ago, we were asked by China to ban POGOs —Philippine Online Gambling Operators — whose market is the mainland; we heeded not. The contentious Chinese nine-dash line in the West Philippine Sea was being reasserted by Xi Jinping. And, most importantly, in June, much to China’s chagrin, Duterte allowed US navy ships to patrol nearby Philippine waters, under the guise of freedom-of-navigation-operations (Fonops), typically only permitted in open waters, and not sovereign ones. While ostensibly anodyne, the US presence played to China’s threat perception — the very axiom of international politics.
This last point is salient for we are in the midst of a swiftly militarizing maritime moment. In early July, China ran test missiles in the South China Sea, underscoring Beijing’s militarization. Just today, the first US-Asean Maritime five-day drill concludes, where eight warships — one of which, ours — four aircrafts, and over 1,000 personnel from the United States and the 10 Asean countries demonstrated their might. Though also ostensibly anodyne, and in the words of US Navy Adm. Joe Tynch, “not focused or dedicated against or towards anyone else,” this is textbook “shock and awe.”
With the recent US withdrawal from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty banning ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles within up to 5,500 kilometers of the US and Russia, this nippy Cold War between China and the US could soon get a lot more heated.
Now, where do we figure into all of this?
It is no secret that the Philippines and the US have deep roots; it is here where the US first cut its teeth with empire. In goods and services alone, two-way trading with the US is at $29.6 billion; and we remain the largest recipient of US military aid. All the more reason for China to keep us close. Add to that the geopolitics of us as the gatekeeper of the Pacific, and we are in a strategic position indeed.
With the US cozying up to the Asean, as demonstrated by the recent maritime drill, we are China’s best bet and best bulwark. In other words, it is in Xi Jinping’s best interest to rope us into the Chinese sphere of influence and ensure we are strung into their “string of pearls” — the network of Chinese military and commercial industries, extending from the mainland, to the Indian Ocean, to the Horn of Africa.
Many deals were inked indeed. And there has been talk of joint energy exploration with China in the disputed West Philippine Sea. But one that has yet to be announced is that which touches upon defense industrialization — a route currently pursued by Saudi Arabia, partnered with Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and General Dynamics. Given the proximity to Iran, feared by the US as a potential nuclear threat much like China these days, US companies were more than eager to develop the arms industry in Saudi Arabia. This could be us: we could be a site for defense industries, doing wonders for our economy in foreign direct investments, industry creation and job creation.
And if we can situate these arms facilities outside metropolitan hubs, we would be able to develop infrastructure outside an already heavily congested national capital Region. After all, our domestic arms industry is as yet, very modest; and in 2018, there were plans to create a Government Arsenal Defense Industrial Economic Zone in Bataan, a 370-hectare government arsenal to accommodate foreign defense firms that want to establish manufacturing plants in the Philippines. Call this my call to arms. Pun, certainly, intended.
The proximity to North Korea and China are incentive enough for the US to secure arms facilities in the region to maintain global deterrence. A US-leaning Asean, our historic relationship with the US, and our geographic starting point in the geopolitical “string of pearls” clasped in the mainland are all reasons enough for China to invest in arms facilities. Though, truth be told, the creation of an iron and steel facility already hints at this. So does Duterte’s recent creation of a space agency; aerospace industries are usually euphemism in international politics for defense industrialization.
The point is that the Philippines is in a fortuitous position indeed to be courted by both China and the US. Akin to Egypt during the Suez Crisis of 1956, who played the Soviet Union and the US against each other to finance the Aswan Dam and nationalize the privately and foreign-owned Suez Canal, we, too, can capitalize on our strengths and seek out opportunities best for our nation and for our economy.
We can cavil about China all we want, but the fact remains that more foreign investment is beneficial to a nation. Just ask any lobbyist who roams the alleyways of Washington and Geneva, working on the public relations of nations. Rather than burning Chinese flags in effigy, as was done right before Duterte’s State of the Nation Address, chanting “China, layas!” (Shoo, China!), we must instead see the business opportunities a closer relationship with our neighbor can bring.
Politics, after all, is not about emotions — that is child’s play. Politics is about pragmatism. And in the international arena, especially so. It is pragmatic for China to invest in economic statecraft in the Philippines — be that in defense industrialization or otherwise. It is pragmatic for the US to maintain us close, especially with an ever-closer China. And it is pragmatic for us to be open to both allies and what salutary investments they may usher into our economy.
Indeed, for the Philippines, it helps not just to have China and the US in our phone book — but more importantly, on speed dial.
The author is an economist who holds master’s degrees in government and international history from the London School of Economics, and a bachelor’s degree in international politics from Georgetown University. She has trained at Harvard University in international education and admissions.
Follow her on Twitter (@kq_avisrara).