ASOG Senior Research Fellow Rommel Ong presents analysis on defense cooperation in Stratbase ADRI conference

On 21 November 2022, Ateneo Policy Center Senior Research Fellow Rear Admiral Rommel Jude G Ong AFP (Ret) presented his analysis on defense cooperation in the second panel of the Stratbase Albert Del Rosario (ADR) Institute’s Pilipinas Conference 2022 with the theme “The Future of the US-PH Alliance: Prospects for Peace and Security in the Indo-Pacific Region.” 

In his presentation entitled “Pursuing Defense Cooperation with Like-Minded States in the Indo-Pacific,” RAdm Ong opined that there is optimism that defense cooperation is back on the right track, with the nation’s interest and well-being at the heart of the Philippines’ independent foreign policy posture. This policy reset, according to him, is a positive development, following six years of a complex “cat and mouse game” that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) played to get around President Rodrigo Duterte’s pivot to China, his policy of appeasement, and the defeatism that permeated public discourse. 

However, considering the fundamental strategic and operational realities such as Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power after the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 20th Party Congress, the CCP’s global and maritime ambitions and its impact on the Indo-Pacific, and the non-kinetic risks arising from the CCP’s united front works (UFW) and intelligence and cyber capabilities, there is a need to assess Philippine defense cooperation’s emerging shape and form, particularly the need to deepen it with the US and like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific. 

He also remarked that the Philippines needs an expanded intelligence-sharing mechanism that covers the alliance and other like-minded partners, thereby removing the barriers that prevent coordination and providing a secure 24/7 collaboration tool with its battle rhythm to achieve comprehensive maritime domain awareness (MDA) across the region. He concluded his presentation by stating that defense cooperation’s success rests on all parties' contributions and that, in the Philippine case, the defense and security sector must realize the severe need for internal reforms. “There are force structure, capability, and interagency issues that are far too wide to cover and far too many to list out,” he said, “but the message that needs to come across is this: the current “business model” we operate in barely addresses the current security challenges, more so the emerging ones.”

Photo Source: Stratbase ADR Institute