When an opponent is too large to contain, the insurance to win is in the alliance. The potential strategic value of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) signed by President Bongbong Marcos recently is in line with this. Plus the two intertwined trilateral alliances under American leadership, namely the Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) as well as the emerging Japan-Philippine-US (JAPHUS) groupings. AUKUS focuses on the Indo-Pacific region. This extends across the Philippine Sea all the way to the South Pacific. JAPHUS takes care of the first island chain,” which extends from Okinawa and the Taiwan Straits all the way to the heart of the South China Sea. These parallel trilateral groupings are part of the Pentagon’s “integrated deterrence” doctrine. The aim is to leverage the US’ broad network of regional allies to check China’s worst instincts. Undeniably, this deters China to attack Taiwan at this point.
