POS221 (9407)

FINAL EXAMINATION

Submitted to:
Prof. Alger P. Dura

Submitted by:
Iana Kristine P. Soria
Identify one important foreign policy of President Gloria Arroyo and President
Benigno Aquino III. Explain why the chosen policy is significant to the Filipinos. (100
points)

Foreign Relation Policies are designed to allocate strategies, frameworks, and laws
that are legislated by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its
own goals through relations with other countries. Its principal objective is to
safeguard the state's national interests and is largely concerned with issues that are
entirely connected to national interests–for example, military power or treaties. As a
result, national interests take precedence, and foreign policies are devised by the
government via high-level decision-making procedures. Achievements in national
interests might arise as a consequence of amicable collaboration with other nations
or via exploitation. Moreover, each country has the right to establish diplomatic,
economic, trade, educational, cultural, and political links with other nations in order to
achieve national interests in international relations through its foreign policy.
Nonetheless, foreign policy always has an impact on a country's actions in the
international arena since it establishes a ground for peace by establishing laws that
are bound to create a concrete system of relationships between neighboring
countries. Given this notion, PRESIDENT BENIGNI AQUINO AND PRESIDENT
GLORIA M. ARROYO are one of the personalities who established the FOREIGN
RELATION POLICIES within the Republic of the Philippines.

In addition, Britannica (n.d.) Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a Filipino politician who was
president of the Philippines during 2001- 2010, pursued a foreign policy based on
nine realities. First, the dynamics of relations between China, Japan, and the United
States determine the security situation and economic evolution of East Asia. Second,
Philippine foreign policy decisions are, increasingly, being made in the context of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Third, Europe will continue to play
a significant role in promoting international prosperity and stability. Fourth, the
international Islamic community remains crucial to the country's search for lasting
and permanent peace in Mindanao. Fifth, inter-regional organizations will become
increasingly influential in the global context. Sixth,the protection of the environment,
natural resources, and maritime territory. Seventh, the drive for foreign markets and
foreign direct investments will form a focal concern of economic diplomacy efforts.
Eighth, international tourism will be a major driver of national growth. And lastly,
Ninth, overseas Filipinos play a critical role in the country's economic and social
stability. In addition, Gloria was able to successfully balance Philippine relations with
both the United States as the Philippines’ oldest ally and China, as the region’s rising
new power. All the more, the threat of public opprobrium over failure to help
overseas workers had led the government of Gloria Arroyo to advance its troop pulls
out from Iraq, in the case of truck driver Angelo dela Cruz who had been held
hostage by militants.
As such, Gloria Arroyo just like Aquino's administration encountered enumerable
issues and conflicts within the international arena. As such, compared to Aquino's
foreign policies, Gloria Arroyo pursued a foreign policy based on nine realities which
were the core of her administration. Her priority was to maintain an economically
stable relationship between China, Japan, and the United States since these
countries are one of the main and primary powerful states which play a pivotal role in
determining security situations within the economic evolution within East Asia.
Moreover, she also assured that states' foreign policy decisions are increasingly
being taken inside the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN). And during her administration, she ensured that Europe would still
continuously become an ally with the state since the country holds a significant role
in the prosperity and stability within the interconnected political, economic, and social
realms within the Philippine Republic. In addition, Arroyo also ensured that the
international Islamic community remains crucial to the country's search for lasting
and permanent peace in Mindanao. With this, she stressed under her foreign
relations policies that inter-regional organizations are highly important since these
are increasingly influential in the global context. Furthermore, under her
administration, she also strengthened the laws and policies which are designed for
the environment, natural resources, and maritime territory within the Philippine area
of responsibility. She also ameliorated the nation's drive for foreign markets and
foreign direct investments for this holds a crucial role in forming focal concern of
economic diplomacy efforts. Also, international tourism became one of her main
targets as it is one of the major drives in achieving national growth. And lastly,
President Arroyo ensured that overseas Filipino workers are provided with concrete
protection by the state and the country in which they are currently working at. This is
to promote the country's economic and social stability while still protecting the well-
being of Filipino workers abroad.

Benigno Aquino III conducted a robust foreign policy, with the advancement of the
Philippines' maritime interests and sovereign rights in the South China Sea as the
centerpiece. Aquino was reacting to China's increased aggression in the disputed
areas, particularly the stationing of coast guard warships at Scarborough Territory, a
rocky outcrop over which the two countries had a heated confrontation in 2012, with
China seizing the shoal. Following this, Filipino fishermen were barred access to the
lucrative fishing grounds near Scarborough Shoal. During the presidency of US
President Barack Obama, US foreign policy appeared to turn toward a more Asia-
focused approach, with the long-term goal of shifting a greater share of US trade to
Asia. Because the Philippines is one of the United States' only three Mutual Defense
Treaty allies in the region, this shift in US foreign policy has altered the Philippines'
international role in unexpected ways.T he past Increased US military support to the
Aquino-led Philippine government was a response to the escalating territorial
confrontation in the South China Sea, according to policy.In light of China's
expanding military might and political clout. The Philippine and US administrations
have enacted numerous new landmark bilateral agreements and programs in light of
such alterations in US foreign policy and apparent adjustments in the Asia-Pacific
region's power balance. The disagreement between the South China Sea and the
West Philippine Sea (SCS) has persisted for decades, but China's unparalleled
political, military, and economic rise, combined with its increased assertiveness in
asserting territorial claims, has sharpened and made the conflict more deadly. Manila
has emphasized the importance of public diplomacy and urged for procedural
international law to settle disputes between claimant countries. As a result, in mid-
2015, President Aquino's government filed a formal legal complaint with the
Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Former President Benigno Aquino III
has adopted a policy of balancing or opposing China's broad maritime claim in the
South China Sea since 2010. He countered Chinese maritime expansion by shifting
the AFP's focus from domestic security to territorial defense, strengthening
Philippine-US security ties, acquiring American military equipment, requesting an
explicit security guarantee from Washington under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty
(MDT), and promoting a strategic partnership with Japan. The Philippines and its
strategic ally, the United States, signed the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation
Agreement (EDCA) in late April 2014. The arrangement was aimed to limit Chinese
maritime expansion in the South China Sea while also providing American soldiers
with a strategic foothold in Southeast Asia through rotating presence on Philippine
soil. The Philippines re-entered a classic geopolitical game among East Asia's great
powers by expanding its security ties with the United States and Japan.

Moreover, Arroyo emphasized that her foreign policy was based on safeguarding the
Philippines' interests by responding to eight realities in the global and regional
environment. The first truth is that the United States, China, and Japan have a
significant impact on East Asia's security and economic development. The second
truth is that Philippine foreign policy decisions are increasingly being made within the
context of ASEAN. Third, the Philippines is becoming increasingly dependent on the
international Islamic community. Fourth, the function of multilateral and interregional
organizations like the WTO in advancing shared interests will be redefined in the
future years. Fifth, the nation's sovereignty and environmental and natural resource
protection can be carried out to the extent that others recognize the nation's rights
over the marine area. Sixth, the country's economic development will continue to rely
heavily on foreign direct investment. Number seven, a country as attractive as the
Philippines can profit from international tourism the most swiftly. Finally, our
overseas Filipinos will continue to play an important role in the economic and social
stability of the country. As such, managing relations within the global community is
imperative in maintaining peace and security within a nation. All the more, amplifying
connections with neighboring countries is pivotal in grasping economic and social
stability, especially within 3rd world countries. On the other hand, President Benigno
Aquino balanced China's growing maritime claim in the South China Sea from 2010
to 2016. By shifting the AFP's focus from domestic security to territorial defense,
bolstering closer Philippine–US security relations, acquiring American military
equipment, seeking an explicit security guarantee from Washington under the 1951
Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), and promoting a strategic partnership with Japan,
President Aquino challenged China. Despite the Permanent Court of Arbitration's
(PCA) July 12 2016 ruling to the Philippines, the Duterte administration is unraveling
its predecessor's balancing policy by distancing itself from the US and drifting closer
to China. In contrast to then-President Aquino's balancing strategy, President
Duterte's foreign policy aims to revive the equi-balancing policy on China. During his
administration, the Philippines established a strong relationship with America and
this opened up an arena for both countries to establish treaties that are formed within
the backbone of helping each other during any crisis.

Overall, foreign policy is designed to preserve the state's national interests. In the
modern era, foreign policy has gotten more challenging. Foreign policy used to be
largely focused on policies that were solely related to national interests, such as
military spending. Treaties or action Foreign policy is currently preoccupied with
trade, economy, human rights, the environment, and cultural concerns. All of these
issues influence how countries interact with one another and pursue their national
interests across the world. And this discipline has a specialized role within the
greater state structure. As such, in order to grasp a noteworthy system inside the
state, solid leadership abilities are required. Furthermore, the previous narratives
suggest that a country's political entity has a considerable influence on its foreign
policy. It is undeniable that a country's foreign policy consists of self-interest
techniques used by the state to safeguard its national interests and achieve its own
aims through connections with other countries. Nevertheless, it is absolute that
foreign relations policies are vital within the international arena since this ensures
security and peace with other countries; thus, political leaders must always establish
feasible and reasonable efforts in this arena.

REFERENCES:

Britannica (n.d.) Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

president of the Philippines
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gloria-Macapagal-Arroyo

GOVPH (n.d.) HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

https://dfa.gov.ph/about/history-of-dfa

De Castro R. C. (2017) Changes in Contemporary Philippine Foreign Policy:

unravelling the balancing policy on an emergent China
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/seac/2017/08/23/changes-in-contemporary-philippine-foreign-
policy-unravelling-the-balancing-policy-on-an-emergent-china/

GOVP (2004) Speech of President Arroyo on the Philippine foreign policy

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2004/08/06/speech-of-president-arroyo-on-the-
philippine-foreign-policy/