The Maphilindian Regionalism as an Alternative to United States-China Dichotomy

Ang Rehiyunalismong Maphilindo bilang Alternatibo sa Dikotomiyang Estados Unidos-Tsina

Abstract

The Philippine foreign relations policy under the previous regime of President Rodrigo Duterte (2016–2022) was characterized by a strategic “pivot to the East.” As part of its systematic distancing from the liberal democratic orientation of its predecessor, the Duterte regime shifted its alignment from Washington to Beijing. One apparent aspect of its rhetoric was the United States–China dichotomy. This rhetoric insisted that the Philippines had only two options: 1) align itself with the United States and become antagonistic toward China, or 2) ally itself with China to avoid its aggression and distance itself from the United States. Yet, as other commentators have observed, the regime merely instrumentalized this dichotomy to justify its failure to protect the West Philippine Sea and to obtain loans from China. This paper belongs to the fields of International Studies and Regional Studies, that utilizes cultural approach. Documentary research will be applied, using news and published materials. This paper aims to critique this problematic dichotomy of the Duterte regime by presenting an alternative framework for Philippine foreign policy: the Maphilindian civilization. Within the context of the trichotomy (self–shared self–other) articulated by historian and anthropologist Zeus A. Salazar, it will be argued that the Maphilindian, or Pan-Malayan, civilization offers a healthier option for the Philippines (self). This framework provides a means of cutting the country’s abusive relationship with the United States and China (others) while enabling a return to its Pan-Malayan and Austronesian cultural origins (shared self). Moreover, it can serve as a foundation for strengthening relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as with other Global South nations. Aside from the theoretical contribution of the study (application of Salazar’s trichotomy to the discourse of the nation’s foreign policy), the paper also aims to encourage the government to prioritize our relations with Indonesia, Malaysia and the entire ASEAN, toward the pursuit of a genuinely independent Philippine foreign policy.