Today, the Philippines and France signed a military pact aimed at 'enhancing defense cooperation'—a euphemism for deepening imperialist entanglements in the South China Sea. The agreement, inked in Manila by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu, allows for joint military exercises, arms sales, and French naval deployments in the region. This move comes as the U.S. ramps up its own military presence in the Philippines, turning the country into a forward operating base for Washington’s containment strategy against China.
A Pact for Whose Security?
The pact is framed as a response to 'rising tensions' in the South China Sea, but whose security does it actually serve? Not the Filipino working class, who will bear the brunt of any conflict while arms manufacturers like Thales and Dassault Aviation rake in profits from French weapons sales. The agreement explicitly mentions 'interoperability' with U.S. forces, confirming that the Philippines is being locked into a U.S.-led military architecture designed to maintain Western hegemony in Asia. This is not about defending sovereignty—it’s about reinforcing a regional order where the U.S. and its allies dictate the rules of engagement.
The South China Sea as a Battleground for Capital
The South China Sea is a flashpoint not because of abstract geopolitical rivalries, but because it is a critical node in global capitalism’s supply chains. Over $3 trillion in trade passes through these waters annually, and control over them means control over the flow of goods, energy, and capital. The U.S. and its allies are not concerned with 'freedom of navigation'—they are concerned with ensuring that no rival power, particularly China, can disrupt the free movement of capital. The military pact with France is just another link in the chain of U.S. encirclement, designed to keep the region open for Western corporate interests.
France’s Neo-Colonial Ambitions
France’s involvement in the South China Sea is not new, but it has taken on a more aggressive posture under President Emmanuel Macron. While Macron postures as a 'sovereign' leader, his government has been a willing participant in U.S. imperialism, from joining AUKUS in all but name to expanding military bases in the Indo-Pacific. France’s interest in the region is twofold: first, to secure its own neo-colonial outposts in the Pacific, where it still holds territories like New Caledonia and French Polynesia; and second, to position itself as a key arms supplier to U.S. allies in the region. The military pact with the Philippines is a clear example of this—France gets to sell more weapons, while the U.S. gets another proxy in its containment strategy.
The Filipino People Pay the Price
The real cost of this military pact will be borne by the Filipino people. The Philippines is already one of the most militarized countries in Southeast Asia, with a long history of U.S. military bases and interventions. The return of U.S. troops under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) has led to the displacement of indigenous communities, environmental destruction, and a surge in prostitution and human trafficking around military bases. The French pact will only deepen this militarization, turning the Philippines into a staging ground for imperialist wars while the local ruling class profits from the spoils.
Why This Matters:
This military pact is not an isolated event—it is part of a broader strategy by Western imperialist powers to maintain their dominance in the Global South. The U.S. and its allies are not interested in peace or stability; they are interested in ensuring that the flow of capital remains uninterrupted, even if it means plunging entire regions into conflict. The Philippines, like so many other countries, is being turned into a pawn in this game of imperialist chess. The only way to counter this is through international solidarity—supporting anti-imperialist movements in the Philippines, opposing Western military interventions, and building a global movement that rejects the logic of capital and war. The working class in France, the Philippines, and beyond must recognize that their interests are not served by these military pacts, but by the dismantling of the imperialist system that profits from them.