Southeast Asia boost defense ties but avoids firm alliances
Countries across the region are expanding defense cooperation in ways that change the South China Sea equation but fall short of a new anti-China bloc
Countries across the region are expanding defense cooperation in ways that change the South China Sea equation but fall short of a new anti-China bloc. For years, the South China Sea has been seen primarily as a potential flashpoint in the intensifying geopolitical rivalry between China and the United States. Southeast Asian states are often presented as the smaller powers caught in the storm. That picture is changing, however, as a new and subtle security network takes shape across the region. It's built not around formal alliances but around access deals, missile sales, coast guard drills, intelligence-sharing talks and defense consultations. On June 1, the Philippines and Vietnam upgraded ties to an enhanced strategic partnership and signed a memorandum on defense cooperation, which commits them to high-level exchanges, strategic dialogue, information sharing and joint activities at sea. The partnership builds on earlier coast guard arrangements, including a hotline and mechanisms to prevent incidents. Philippine island on edge amid fear of China-Taiwan conflict To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A raft of defense deals Late last month, Indian officials said that New Delhi had signed a $629 million (€555 million) deal to supply Vietnam with the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system. Vietnam is the second Southeast Asian buyer publicly confirmed by India, after the Philippines, which signed a $375 million contract in 2022 for three BrahMos batteries. The missiles are jointly developed by India and Russia. Meanwhile, Japan's security relationship with the Philippines has grown quite concrete. A Reciprocal Access Agreement entered into force last September, expanding troop deployment in each country, while this month they began talks over a new deal to share classified defense information. In February, Australia and Indonesia signed the "Jakarta Treaty," a common security pact that commits the two governments to regular top-level consultations. A not-quite united front against China None of these agreements creates a NATO-style alliance.
Together, however, they show how middle powers are trying to make unilateral pressure at sea harder and costlier. ASEAN head signals optimism on stabilizing South China Sea To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video All these countries share concerns about China and an interest in upholding the rule of law at sea and keeping the region free from coercion by great powers, Hunter Marston, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute, told DW. At the same time, they recognize — to varying degrees — the possibility that the US could scale back its commitments to regional security, which would introduce volatility and unpredictability into the prevailing balance of power, he said. "While they don't all see eye to eye on regional security or support the United States military presence equally, now is the time for middle powers to band together to stand up for their interests. None are strong enough to do so alone," Marston added. "Even Indonesia and India, major powers in their own right, are looking to one another to shore up their security." The rise of multilateral deterrence The Philippines has moved the fastest. Since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. entered office in 2022, Manila has become more willing to publicize Chinese pressure in the South China Sea and to widen defense cooperation beyond its main ally, the United States. Manila and Hanoi still have overlapping maritime claims of their own, yet both face Chinese pressure in the South China Sea and share an interest in preventing disputes from being settled by force or intimidation. Their upgrading of relations this month reflects that calculation. In 2024, their coast guards held their first joint exercise. This month's agreements go even further, linking defense cooperation to maritime law, humanitarian assistance, counterterrorism and peacekeeping. This upgrade "reaffirms Vietnam's unique and enduring position as the sole strategic partner of the Philippines in Southeast Asia," Marcos Jr.
The BriefWire