Japan, and the US) to organize a joint international conference on cyber capacity building. However, their importance may diminish in the coming years due to the US President-elect's preference for bilateral rather than multilateral forms of cooperation.

Of course, there are also multilateral initiatives that the Philippines has joined in recent years, such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the US–Japan–Philippines trilateral format, the Squad (together with Australia, Japan, and the US), or cooperation with the Quad (Australia, India,

develop a new economic model that would allow it to base its security primarily on its own capabilities. Achieving this would require undertaking profound structural reforms - similar to those implemented in the past by other regional countries, such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Manila also plans to sign a VFA with France and MoUs on defense cooperation with Vietnam and Germany.

On the other hand, the Philippines faces significant internal challenges, such as strong political polarization and the pressing need to

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The Philippines has already signed VFAs with both the US and Australia. Additionally, in 2024, Manila signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defense cooperation with Canada (which Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro indicated could later be upgraded to a VFA), the UK, and Singapore.

a $35 billion, 10-year military modernization program—the largest in its history—aimed at strengthening the Philippines' military capabilities in the South China Sea. In July 2024, Manila and Tokyo signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement, a pact structurally similar to a Visiting Forces Agreement.

Manila’s special ties with Taipei. Additionally, in early 2023, the Philippines and the US expanded the EDCA (originally signed in 2014), granting Washington access to four new military bases: three in northern Luzon and one on Balabac Island. In January 2024, Manila announced 'Re-Horizon 3',