Allied Defense Network Deepens Around the Philippines Amid Rising China Tensions
Allied defense integration is accelerating in anticipation of a Taiwan crisis, illustrated by Australia and the Philippines’ plans to finalize a 2026 defense pact to expand joint exercises and infrastructure support, complementing the U.S.-Philippines Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, and demonstrated in Exercise Alon 2025, Australia’s largest regional joint force projection. Japan’s Reciprocal Access Agreement with Manila took effect in September 2025, enabling troop deployments and defense technology cooperation, while similar deals with Canada, New Zealand, France, the UK, Germany, and Lithuania are expanding access and logistics networks that complicate China’s strategy. These developments sit against the background of continued regional tensions; on October 12, a China Coast Guard vessel rammed and water-cannoned the BRP Datu Pagbuaya near Pag-asa Island, prompting U.S. condemnation under the Mutual Defense Treaty and warnings from Taiwan about escalating regional instability.