The UP Asian Center, in partnership with the Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation, Inc. (APPFI), hosted the roundtable "Philippines between the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait: Two Hotspots, Same Quandaries" last 22 May 2024, at the Seminar Room, GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center, University of the Philippines, Diliman.

Featuring insights from Mr. Thomas Shattuck, a renowned security expert on China and the Asia-Pacific from the University of Pennsylvania Perry World House, leading experts from the academe, think tanks, foreign embassies, and Philippine senior security officials also attended the roundtable.

As noted by Asian Center Dean Henelito Sevilla Jr., the Philippines is situated between two major security flashpoints---the Taiwan Strait to its north and the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea, WPS) to its west. Mr. Shattuck highlighted that the Philippines and Taiwan face similar challenges regarding their respective maritime territories, but employ different policy approaches. Effectively managing these flashpoints is crucial for the country's security and prosperity, as they are highly volatile areas that can escalate rapidly.

Mr. Shattuck further explained that the situation in the Taiwan Strait is unfolding slowly, whereas the conflict in the WPS is accelerating rapidly. He pointed out the complexity of enacting the Taiwan contingency and the limited security response capacity of the US-Taiwan Response Act (TRA) shape Taiwan's approach against China’s aggression in the Taiwan Strait.

Meanwhile, the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling, rejecting China's extensive claims, and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the Philippines and the US influence the WPS situation. In contrast, these factors provide the Philippines a platform for a more assertive foreign policy in dealing with Chinese belligerence in the South China Sea.

The discussion also covered responding to Chinese information propaganda, with Mr. Shattuck emphasizing the effectiveness of Taiwan’s fact-checking department in countering the PRC’s information and disinformation warfare. He describes Taiwan as a good case study for discreetly de-escalating tensions while gathering international support for its sovereignty claims, offering lessons for the Philippines in addressing China's information warfare.

To conclude, Asian Center Dean Henelito Sevilla Jr. reaffirmed the center's role and commitment to facilitating informed discourse and policy development by leveraging its multidisciplinary approach to address pressing issues facing the Philippines and the region.

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The Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The UP Asian Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. It also offers a Ph.D. program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. As an area studies institution, the Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website.For other news and upcoming events at the Asian Center, click here.