Philippines
The Philippines — an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands that was once a U.S. colony and is now a U.S. treaty ally — faces challenges to internal stability and sits at the crosshairs of geopolitical contestation in the Western Pacific. With decades of experience in the Philippines, USIP programming has expanded rapidly since 2022 along three lines: ground-level support to local partners implementing the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, which is the greatest opportunity for sustainable peace in Mindanao in generations; convening dialogues on key issues for the U.S.-Philippines alliance; and support for national efforts to mainstream peace education, including in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Featured Publications
Indonesia’s Nickel Bounty Sows Discord, Enables Chinese Control
As the world moves toward cleaner forms of energy, specific minerals and metals that support this transition have become “critical.” Nickel — a major component used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries — is one such critical mineral. Demand for battery metals is forecast to increase 60-70 percent in the next two decades. This may be a boon for some. But in Indonesia, which produces more than half of the world’s nickel supply, it has led to political, environmental and ethical complications.
Are China and the Philippines on a Collision Course?
Tensions between China and the Philippines have sharply escalated in recent months over territorial disputes in the South China Sea that could draw in the United States.
Two Years Later, What Has the Indo-Pacific Strategy Achieved?
This month marks the second anniversary of the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS). USIP experts Carla Freeman, Mirna Galic, Daniel Markey, and Vikram Singh assess what the strategy has accomplished in the past two years, how it has navigated global shocks and its impact on partnerships in the region.
Current Projects
Religious Women Negotiating on the Frontlines
In recent years, peace processes — such as the track 2 intra-Afghan negotiations — have shown that on both a moral and practical level, women’s inclusion is essential. Women’s involvement in peace processes increases their likelihood of success and longevity and can increase legitimacy. While more literature on women contributing to mediation and negotiation efforts is slowly being produced, little attention is currently being paid to the already existing work of women who employ their faith and mobilize religious resources for peacebuilding.
Southeast Asia in a World of Strategic Competition: An Essay Series
Great power rivalry between the United States and China is frequently described in bilateral terms, with regions of the world — including Southeast Asia — merely serving as arenas of competition. But this framing ignores the agency of third countries in managing the risks and opportunities presented by this competition. To explore these countries’ agency and the corresponding policy options, this USIP essays series includes contributions from 10 Southeast Asia-based experts. Each essay provides one country’s perspective on how the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) perceive and respond to strategic competition between the United States and China.