US-Japan-Philippines Alliance: A Trio With Bitter Past Now Threatens China's Maritime Ambitions

China has enjoyed unregulated activities across disputed waters in the West Philippine Sea for many years, especially backed by a Duterte regime that displayed a much softer attitude toward Beijing.

However, the new government under Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. deviated from his predecessor's approach, reviving defense ties with Washington and now forging a trilateral security alliance with its former colonizer Japan amid Beijing's continuing aggression in waters under Philippine territorial jurisdiction.

A trilateral summit that pressed a red button

Following a trilateral summit earlier this month in Washington, D.C., U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Marcos Jr. released a joint statement regarding the freshly minted three-way alliance.

Shortly after the summit, the Chinese government lashed out at the allies. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said China "firmly opposes the relevant countries manipulating bloc politics." She maintained that China's actions in both the South and East China Seas "are appropriate and lawful, and beyond reproach."

Alliance in economy, trade, and more importantly, security

Meanwhile, the U.S.-Japan-PH statement discussed how the three nations will promote economic growth by investing in diversified and reliant supply chains, as well as the announcement of the Luzon Corridor, which will support connectivity across several areas in the Philippines.

However, all eyes were on the latter part of the statement, wherein the countries reaffirmed their "unwavering commitment to freedom of navigation and overflight, and the importance of respecting sovereign rights of states within their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) consistent with international law."

The trio went on to express "serious concerns" about China's "dangerous and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea." They also expressed concern about Beijing's militarization of reclaimed island features in the area, as well as its "unlawful maritime claims."

Tokyo joined Washington and Manila in asserting the Philippines' July 12, 2016 international arbitral victory over China that said Beijing's claims had "no legal basis."

A critical but seemingly underrated part of the statement notes that the three countries are strongly opposed to Beijing's actions in the East China Sea "that seek to undermine Japan's longstanding and peaceful administration of the Senkaku Islands." The said part of the statement brings to light a lesser-known territorial area that China also lays claim to: the strategically positioned Senkaku Islands, which has seen increasing Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) activities in recent years.

Just over the weekend, China once again displayed aggressive behavior, confronting Japanese lawmakers who were visiting the islands.

Beijing snaps in "standard" language

Chinese state media immediately blasted the cooperation, and pointed at Washington as "the source of crisis and instigator of conflict in the Asia-Pacific region." There's nothing out of the ordinary from Beijing's response to the summit and Chinese state-run tabloids criticizing the U.S. for backing Asian countries seeking defense ties. "It is a standard talking point out of Beijing," Patrick M. Cronin, chair for Asia-Pacific Security at the Hudson Institute, told International Business Times.

"The U.S. is only the source of the crisis if you think China's expansive historical claims should supersede international law, ASEAN norms, the Declaration of Conduct, the regulations for preventing collision at sea, and rules-based order," he added.

A tale of occupation and a path to redemption

Manila has had deep ties in various aspects of the economy and defense with Washington. The Philippines was an American commonwealth in the past, but ironically, it was the U.S. that led the allied forces to free angry and devastated Filipinos from Japanese colonization, and it was also Washington that "granted" full independence to the Philippines after World War II.

Deep-rooted U.S.-Philippine ties took a dim turn when ex-president Rodrigo Duterte moved the Philippines away from the U.S. and closer to China. However, Marcos Jr. has since revived the alliance, sticking closer than ever to Manila's long-time western ally amid mounting pressure over China's increasingly aggressive activities in the West Philippine Sea, particularly in the hotly-disputed Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal/Ren'ai Jiao).

Japan, on the other hand, has had bilateral relations with the Philippines for decades, but behind the modern-day ties is a bitter past of Japanese occupation laden with heart-rending stories of "comfort women" and timeless tales about survival as proven by the names of thousands of Filipino fighters who gave their lives to their motherland in hopes of breaking free from Japan.

"Imperial Japan's aggression and even some of America's colonial behavior in the Philippines are good reasons for Tokyo and Washington to be doing everything they can today to support the Philippines when confronted with coercion from an outside power," Cronin said.

How Japan's entry can change the dynamics

The U.S. and Philippines have ties based on a "genuine partnership," Cronin pointed out, while Japan's increasing show of determination to play a larger regional role "is increasingly backed up by comprehensive power." Still, if the U.S. and Philippines support Tokyo should it move to achieve its regional maritime goals, such actions "can only strengthen a free and open order."

In a region where China is brazenly displaying its desire for expanding its one-sided maritime claims, Japan has seen "the need to forge greater cooperation to stand up against the unilateral change to the status quo through force or coercion." Japan's addition will also "create a new but also unrelenting dynamic for protecting Filipino security," he noted.

Reawakening the Filipino warrior within

Cronin believes Beijing will continue to pursue its maritime claims and thirst for expansive control over disputed waters in the South China Sea. However, "it will have to factor in support from the United States and now Japan."

China continues to wield its iron hand over the South China Sea even after the Philippines allied with the U.S. and Japan, with the CCG using water cannons on Philippine boats. It appears the summit didn't change China much, but it surely changed something within the Filipino spirit. Manila has become more vocal in asserting its territorial rights as backed by the 2016 arbitral ruling and international maritime laws. Marcos Jr. also announced a "response and countermeasure package" to deter China's "dangerous attacks" in the West Philippine Sea.

It remains to be seen how the new trio will live up to their security commitments to each other. But for now, the world will expect action to succeed words after Marcos Jr. said Filipinos will "not yield," Biden reaffirmed the U.S.'s "ironclad alliance commitments to the Philippines," and Kishida expressed Japan's commitment to collaborate with "like-minded countries" to maintain an open international order.