Abstract

This lecture examines the current state of bilateral relations by assessing its key challenges, underlying realities, and future prospects. The South China Sea has become the most prominent feature of Sino-Philippine relations, serving as a major source of strategic mistrust and contributing to the politicization and securitization of other bilateral policy-issue areas. Yet, despite the optics, both states maintain a degree of compartmentalization in their relationship. Moreover, Philippines-China relations are coinciding with broader regional dynamics and security competition in the Indo-Pacific.

About the Speaker

Aaron Jed Rabena is an Assistant Professor at the Asian Center in the University of the Philippines, Fellow at the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC), and Non-Resident Fellow at the Korean Institute for Maritime Strategy (KIMS). He had previously served as Visiting Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, National Chengchi University in Taiwan, and International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken) in Kyoto, Japan. He was also a Non-Resident Fellow at the Pacific Forum in Hawaii, Adjunct Faculty at the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), and Adviser/Consultant with the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime – Global Maritime Crime Program (UNODC-GMCP). Additionally, he is an alumnus of the East-West Center (EWC), the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI-APCSS). Aaron holds a PhD in International Relations from Shandong University in China and has an Executive Education in Risk Management from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). His areas of interest include Strategic Studies, Greater East Asian Geopolitics and Multilateral Politics, Political Risk, Economic Security, and Chinese Politics and Foreign Policy.