MANILA – June 30, 2025 – The Philippines is stepping up its defense and infrastructure cooperation with the United States and Japan, advancing a “one-theater” military strategy while reviving a key railway project originally linked to China.

According to Reuters, the trilateral defense initiative aims to create a unified operational theater across the East and South China seas, enhancing joint planning, surveillance, and military readiness among the three allies. The strategy is being designed to respond to increasingly assertive Chinese activities in maritime zones disputed by Tokyo and Manila.

Simultaneously, South China Morning Post reported that the long-delayed Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas (SCMB) railway project — once backed by Beijing — is being revived with U.S. and Japanese technical and financial support. The strategic infrastructure plan will boost both commercial trade and military logistics, particularly around Clark and Subic, key military and economic zones.

Under the new defense framework, cooperation will likely expand to include Australia, France, Canada, and New Zealand, all of whom have visiting forces agreements or similar security pacts with Manila. The goal is to enable rapid response coordination, access to Philippine bases, and improved maritime domain awareness.

These moves further integrate the Philippines into a U.S.-led regional security architecture, reducing its dependency on China for infrastructure development while bolstering deterrence capabilities amid persistent "gray zone" pressures from Beijing.

Washington and Tokyo are also using infrastructure diplomacy to fill the vacuum left by China’s stalled Belt and Road Initiative projects in the Philippines, offering sustainable alternatives through renewed partnerships.

However, the future of this deepened strategic alignment could hinge on the outcome of the 2028 Philippine elections. A return to power by the Duterte-aligned political bloc, known for its pro-China stance, may slow or reverse Manila's military and economic pivot toward the United States and Japan.