| Publication |
2010.
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| Summary/Abstract |
How do resource-starved weak powers adjust to a changing regional system? Looking at the Philippine case, this article examines the direction of the country's foreign policy under the Arroyo administration. Observably, this foreign policy is directed to the generation of external resources that could address the country's main security challenge: domestic insurgencies. To pursue this internal agenda, the Philippines engages both the United States and China in a delicate balancing act. The government has also jump-started its program of development diplomacy, with directives for its embassies and consulates abroad to promote the country's export trade and to protect the rights and welfare of 8.5 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). It also utilizes multilateral organizations to advance its national development objectives. However, the country's inherent weakness has constrained its ability to exploit optimally the opportunities created by its fluid external environment. In conclusion, the article contends that unless it consolidates its political base and enhances its economic competitiveness, the Philippines will remain a quintessential weak power in the world of the strong in East Asia.
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