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The Effectiveness of Minor Powers’ Hedging
Strategy: Comparing Singapore and the Philippines*
Ryan Yu-Lin Liou**1
S. Philip Hsu***
Abstract
Many Southeast Asian countries are known to employ hedging strategies toward
an emerging new regional order. We explore hedging and other strategic concepts, and
how effective minor powers’ hedging are. Prior research suggests that lesser powers in
Southeast Asia will benefit more by hedging, but little empirical evidence has been
offered to support this claim. By underestimating the influence of domestic actors and
enduring rivalry, the hedging thesis might overestimate the effectiveness of hedging
and find no variation among Southeast Asian states. Singapore and the Philippines serve
as two cases to examine and compare the effectiveness of minor powers’ hedging. We
find that Singapore and the Philippines both have acquired economic and security
benefits from China and the United States. However, the Philippines has the South
China Sea dispute with China and domestic constraints, so it is less successful than
Singapore particularly in advancing security relations with China.
*Please do not cite this draft without the authors’ permission. **PhD student, the Political Science and International Affairs Program, University of Georgia, USA.
Email: [email protected] ***Professor and Department Chair, Department of Political Science, National Taiwan University, Taiwan.
Email: [email protected]
1
Introduction
Since the mid-1990s, there has been considerable research exploring China’s rise
and how Southeast Asian (SEA) countries respond to the emerging regional order, an
order which is now shaped mainly by China and the United States. Nevertheless, debate
continues regarding SEA states’ strategies toward China and the United States. In the
shadow of China’s growing military and economic power, several SEA countries try to
keep relations open with major powers in this region. For example, while Vietnam is
China’s “friend,” it has enhanced its relations with the United States in recent years.
Regarding current discussion on these lesser powers’ strategic responses, hedging is the
most significant topic. Hedging has been considered a strategy to allow a country to
maximize its benefits by avoiding overt commitment to big powers and choosing sides
among these powers (Acharya 2003; Ciorciari 2010; Goh 2005; Kuik 2008, 2016;
Weitsman 2004, 32). On the one hand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand,
Indonesia, among others, are the widely recognized as hedgers between China and the
United States. On the other hand, Cambodia and Laos are the prime examples of not
adopting hedging due to their unambiguous alignment with China.
Although hedging is widely recognized as the optimal as well as most popular
strategy in Southeast Asia, little is known about: i) what the differences are between the
concept of hedging and other strategic concepts; and ii) how effective SEA countries’
hedging strategies are. This paper aims to address these questions. Moreover, much
scholarship suggests that SEA countries will benefit more from a hedging strategy, but
little empirical evidence has been offered to support this claim. The question of whether
hedging help countries maximize returns remains unresolved. This paper thus attempts
to examine the relatively underexplored issue, that is, the effectiveness of minor
power’s hedging. Prior research mostly overlooks the effects of domestic politics and
enduring rivalry with target states, which may account for the variation of hedging’s
effectiveness in Southeast Asia. By underestimating the influence of domestic actors
and enduring rivalries (e.g., territorial disputes), the hedging thesis might overestimate
the effectiveness of hedging and find no variation among hedgers. Additionally, this
paper covers some gaps in much of the literature by examining SEA countries’ relations
with China and the United States on both the economic and security dimensions.
We make two central claims. First, we contend that overstretching the hedging
concept will undermine its analytical rigor and make almost every country a hedger.
2
We clarify hedging as combining different tools, separating issue areas, and
diversifying target states and thus hedging distinguishes itself from the other strategic
concepts, i.e., balancing and bandwagoning. Second, we present evidence indicating
that Singapore and the Philippines have acquired economic and security benefits from
both China and the United States, but there are visible differences in these benefits
between the two countries. These minor powers in Southeast Asia have enhanced
security ties with the United States and obtained economic benefits from China.
However, while many studies claim that a hedger can maximize national interests from
the United States and China, we argue that hedging does not necessarily translate into
these results because domestic politics and enduring rivalry could constrain the
hedging’s effectiveness. Our findings suggest that although the Philippines has reaped
benefits from China and the United States, its hedging effectiveness was moderated by
its domestic politics and enduring rivalry with China. Therefore, we argue that the
Philippines’s hedging is less effective than Singapore’s.
The Debate on SEA Countries’ Responses to the Emerging New Order
There are three main propositions regarding SEA countries’ strategic responses to
the emerging new order shaped by China’s rise. The first proposition is the balancing
viewpoint, which is primarily based on the balance of power theory. It argues that most
SEA countries, especially maritime countries, are balancing or will balance China by
taking advantage of security cooperation with the United States, because of the lack of
trust in China and the influence of geopolitics (Emmers 2003; Friedberg 2011; Ross
1999, 2006). The second viewpoint on SEA-China relations is bandwagoning. In
contrast to the balancing proposition, the bandwagoning perspective is partly derived
and revised from the hegemonic stability theory. The bandwagoning viewpoint posits
that SEA countries will bandwagon with China and that China will play a leading role
in Asia mainly due to historical experiences (Tributary System), a huge power
asymmetry, shared culture and ideas, and China’s recent successful policies (Kang
2003a, 2003b, 2007; Womack 2003).
Moving beyond the realist approach adopted by the balancing and the
bandwagoning viewpoint, the third position is the hedging perspective. The hedging
proposition functions as a bridge between the other two arguments, contending that the
dichotomy between balancing and bandwagoning is static, and introducing a more
dynamic analytic framework that combines indirect balancing, engagement, and
3
bandwagoning concepts. The hedging viewpoint recognizes the coercive measures used
by many SEA countries in addition to acknowledging the cooperation and positive
aspects of SEA-China relations. For instance, Amitav Acharya refutes the
bandwagoning viewpoint by giving examples of SEA countries’ military modernization,
and by arguing that trade and investment acceleration in Southeast Asia with China are
not a product of strategic bandwagoning but of economic pragmatism. He further claims
that through regional institutions and continuing dialogues, SEA countries may acquire
high-level autonomy and the capacity to socialize China (Acharya 2003, 2014).
Slightly different from Acharya’s argument, Evelyn Goh considers Southeast Asia
a less active and symmetrical player. Goh’s findings suggest that the United States is
still the dominant power in the region, and thus SEA countries will take advantage of
the public good provided by the United States and preserve the current hierarchy led by
the United States. Goh holds that SEA countries have deployed the “enmeshment”
strategy to increase the target states’ stakes, especially China’s, in regional or
international order (Goh 2007, 2013). Overall, the hedging perspective posits that SEA
countries have two goals: First, to obtain greatest benefits by engaging with China (e.g.,
through institutions and economic linkages) as well as through indirectl balancing (i.e.,
by maintaining close ties with the United States). A second consideration is to seek
more freedom of action by expanding the strategic options (Fiori and Passeri 2015;
Khong 2004; Kim 2016; Kuik 2008; Manning and Przystup 1999; McDougall 2012;
Medeiros 2005; Tan 2012) (see Table 1).
Table 1. Debate on SEA Responses to the Emerging New Order
Balancing Bandwagoning Hedging
Analytical
Foundations
Balance of
Power Theory
Revised Hegemonic
Stability Theory
Balance of Power,
Institutionalist,
Interdependence
Assumption of
Structure Anarchy Hierarchy led by
China
Highly Fluid and
Uncertain
Main
Arguments/
Predictions
SEA countries,
especially
maritime
countries, will
balance
against China
by cooperating
with the
United States.
Due to power
asymmetry,
historical and
cultural factors,
SEA states are
willing to live in a
stable hierarchical
system led by
China.
Because many SEA
countries engage
China with caution,
they maintain security
ties with the United
States and avoid
choosing sides. In this
way, SEA hedgers can
maximize their
interests.
4
While insightful, these three arguments regarding SEA countries’ strategic
response have some limitations. The balancing viewpoint ignores the “positive-sum
game” trend after the Cold War and places too much emphasis on coercion; thus, it
cannot fully explain the SEA countries’ flexible and diverse responses to China’s rise.
The central problem with the bandwagoning argument is that it is easy to take a county’s
cooperation with great powers as bandwagoning. However, cooperation in economic
and political areas does not mean compromise with China. In addition, policy and
strategy are at different levels; thus, some SEA countries’ compliant policies cannot be
considered as a bandwagoning strategy. The hedging perspective has captured the fluid
dynamics of today’s Asian order by addressing both the cooperative and coercive
dimensions and coping with the US’s security role. Additionally, SEA countries’
moderate defense spending and military modernization since 2000 support the hedging
perspective. We can also see the Philippines, Singapore, and others are hedging on
specifics. Therefore, the hedging perspective is the most convincing argument within
the current debate.
However, while various hedging studies suggest that those SEA countries can
benefit hugely from hedging strategy, remarkably little empirical research has tested
this claim. Further, there is insufficient research on the differences in the SEA countries’
hedging effectiveness. Hence, this paper has two aims. First, to clarify the concept of
hedging; and second, to assess the effectiveness of SEA countries’ hedging by focusing
on the cases of Singapore and the Philippines.
Discussion of Lesser Powers’ Strategies
The literature on smaller country’s strategies toward great powers falls into four
types: challenging type, compromising type, cooperative type, and combining type. The
challenging type mainly includes balancing (Walt 1987; Waltz 1979) and soft balancing
(Nexon 2009, 340–47; Pape 2005; Paul 2005). Their major features are to use coercive
policy tools and to challenge the existing order. In contrast, the main feature of the
compromising type is to concede to great powers in order to avoid conflicts or to reap
greater benefits. This type includes bandwagoning, appeasement, buck-passing, and
accommodation (Christensen and Snyder 1990; Kang 2007; Mearsheimer 2001, 157–
62; Schweller 1994).
As for cooperative strategies, they primarily entail engagement, binding, and
transcending, and their features are employing non-coercive policy tools (e.g.,
5
multilateral institutions) to overcome the anarchy structure or even shape the great
powers’ preferences (Schroeder 1994, 117; Schweller 1999, 13–15; Schweller and
Priess 1997, 8–9). Hence, while both are non-coercive, cooperative strategies are more
proactive than compromising strategies.
Lastly, enmeshment and hedging can be categorized as combining because both
strategies employ cooperative instruments and coercive instruments simultaneously
(Ciorciari 2009, 167–69; Goh 2007, 120–27; Khong 2004, 172–92). Although these
two strategies maintain coercion to cope with target countries, they are different from
balancing and soft balancing because they do not intend to challenge the existing order.
Because these four types of strategies have common ground, we simplify our discussion
into three major strategies: balancing, bandwagoning, and hedging in the later context.
Clarifying the Concept of Hedging
Borrowed from the field of finance, hedging is employed to lessen risks and avoid
fluctuations via multiple tools. However, the concept of hedging has been significantly
extended in international relations in recent scholarship, and it seems that hedging can
explain every country’s foreign strategy. In the development stage of hedging’s
analytical framework, scholars have gradually integrated different concepts. For
example, Cheng-Chwee Kuik analyzes SEA countries’ hedging by integrating indirect-
balancing, dominance-denial, economic-pragmatism, binding-engagement, and
limited-bandwagoning. He further contends that these “counteracting” policy tools help
smaller powers reduce risks and increase returns (Kuik 2008, 2013, 2016). Similarly,
Le Hong Hiep examines Vietnam’s strategy toward China by dividing hedging into four
elements—hard balancing, soft balancing, economic pragmatism, and direct
engagement. Every element also entails multiple policies (Le 2013).
We draw attention to two mediating factors. First, by stretching the scope, the
concept of hedging in most literature is so broad that analytical rigor is undermined. By
integrating almost every relevant strategic element into hedging, such an analysis
becomes “unfalsifiable.” For example, in Kuik’s lines of reasoning, Malaysia is a
hedger even though it adopts limited bandwagoning, engagement, and indirect
balancing (Kuik 2016). If this is the case, however, then Laos and Cambodia would also
be treated as hedgers. This definition does not distinguish hedgers from non-hedgers.
Second, existing studies consider hedging a mixed strategy of balancing and
6
bandwagoning. However, the coexistence of cooperation and discord in international
politics is a normal phenomenon. The “counteracting” policies or cooperation cum
conflict do not equate to a hedging strategy. We argue that researchers should avoid
vague definitions of hedging. The combination of policy tools does not necessarily
represent the use of hedging. The requirement of hedging is being able to pass on risks
to others. For example, many SEA countries pass most of their security risks and
burdens to the United States because the latter provides public goods (e.g., freedom of
navigation) and takes on primary responsibilities to keep China in check. Thus, these
minor powers in Southeast Asia can hedge on specifics and avoid primary balancing
burden and war risks. We contend that hedging has three elements. As well as the
combination of policy instruments, there are two other essential components in hedging:
the separation of issue areas and the diversification of targets/partners. We will illustrate
this below.
To address the issues caused by the over-extension of hedging, Lim and Cooper
offer a critical and solid analysis of the hedging concept by redefining hedging as
sending an ambiguous alignment signal to great powers and then they examine four
cases: Japan, Australia, Vietnam, and Singapore. By narrowing the hedging scope to
the security domain, however, their findings unsurprisingly show that the United States
is the SEA states’ top strategic choice. Yet they go too far in excluding the economic
importance in order to maintain focus on traditional security (Lim and Cooper 2015).
By neglecting the economic factors, however, the hedging concept lacks analytical
value in spite of shrinking the scope. The main reason is that economic consideration
is crucial for SEA countries, whose economic performances are the foundations of
regime stability (Chan 2013). The Asian financial crisis in 1997 provides a clear
example of economic factor. Therefore, the economic dimension must be included so
that the hedging framework remains meaningful and useful. This paper will examine
hedging from both security and economic perspectives. We also do not agree with Lim
and Cooper that non-US treaty ally and minor/no security dispute are the necessary
components of hedging states. Like Thailand and the Philippines, while being the US
allies, they still can employ hedging. In the next section, we aim to clarify hedging by
identifying hedging’s implications.
Combination of Policy Tools and Separation of Issue Areas
Most recent scholarship considers hedging to be either an amalgamation of
7
coercive and cooperative measures or a combination of balancing and bandwagoning.
However, combination does not capture all aspects of hedging. A country that simply
combines different tools cannot be defined as a hedger because, by that loose definition,
almost every country would be a hedger. We argue that there is another essential
element in hedging: the separation of issue-areas. A hedger will attempt to align with
other countries on different issues by taking advantage of the latter’s niches. Thus,
numerous SEA hedgers choose to cooperate with China in the economic realm but
prefer to treat the United States as their security protector. The issue areas of interaction
between SEA and other major countries include traditional security, non-traditional
security, trade, investment, finance, aid, and so on. As for the policy tools of SEA
countries, they range from coercive to cooperative options, including military
modernization; low-intensity coercion (e.g., military exercise with the third party);
limited security collaboration (e.g., Confidence-Building Measures [CBMs]); financial
cooperation; and warm trade and investment linkage. Due to the growing nature of the
non-zero-sum game in Asia, issue areas become more diverse, thus accommodating
multiple actors.
Diversification of Target States
Additionally, hedgers intend to diversify their target states to expand strategic
space. The selection of targets is based on the targets’ strengths and characteristics.
Most SEA countries’ primary targets are the United States and China, while other
countries, such as Japan, the EU, and India, are considered secondarily important. For
SEA economies, China can be their economic engine by promoting trade and
investment. While China’s economic role has become more central in Southeast Asia,
the United States maintains the indispensable security role in the region (Cha 2010,
2017; Chan 2013, 161–81; Sutter 2010, 53–54). On the other hand, some SEA mainland
countries (i.e., Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar) principally look to China for their
security and economic resources. As for Thailand, its trade dependence on China has
grown as its dependence on the United States has gradually waned. Moreover, although
Thailand remains as a military ally of the United States, it has started to increase
security exchanges with China. In a similar vein, while Vietnam has close ties with
China, it has significantly improved relations with the United States in recent years. As
for SEA maritime countries, such as Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Singapore,
Malaysia, and Indonesia, they still see the United States as playing a vital security role,
8
while their economies depend more on China.
By building on the existing hedging literature, this article advances a more
rigorous definition of hedging as combining different tools, separating issue areas, and
diversifying target states. Thus, hedging distinguishes itself from other strategic
concepts, i.e., balancing and bandwagoning.
Case Selection
Although the literature employs hedging concept on SEA countries, this paper
focuses on only Singapore and the Philippines. These two countries are selected as the
two “least likely” cases. As Table 2 and Table 3 indicate, they both are the closest
strategic partners of the United States among the SEA maritime countries. It is believed
that if two countries are in different political-military camps, it is less likely to have
close trade linkage between them due to the negative security externality concern. That
is, political-security alignment will influence economic ties (Gowa 1994). Among the
SEA countries, Singapore and the Philippines are clearly under the US security
umbrella. Consequently, if Singapore and the Philippines can on the one hand, maintain
close relationship with the United States and even enhance this linkage, and on the other
hand successfully benefit from China and hedge between China and the United States,
we could argue that hedging thesis is more persuasive.
Table 2. The Sum of China’s/ the US Arms Imports, 2002-2014
Millions of US Dollars
China US
Singapore 0 5028(58.21%)
Malaysia <0.5(0.13%) 114(2.86%)
Indonesia 191(4.18%) 325(7.11%)
Brunei 0 73(15.24%)
the Philippines 0 236(71.95%)
Vietnam 0 0
Thailand 96(5.37%) 472(26.38%)
Myanmar 1097(41.32%) 0
Laos 37(42.05%) 0
Cambodia 114(45.42%) 0
Notes: The numbers in parentheses represent the dependence of arms transfers on the target
countries.
Source: Calculated from SIPRI Arms Transfers Database,
http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/values.php.
9
Table 3. SEA Counties’ Security Linkages with the US
Defense
Agreement
Military
Deployment Other Commitments
Treaty
Ally
the
Philippines
1951Mutual
Defense Treaty;
1998 Visiting
Forces Agreement;
2002 Mutual
Logistics Support
Agreement; 2014
Enhanced Defense
Cooperation
Agreement
(EDCA)*
Deploy forces to
PH’s bases on a
rotational basis;
Joint Special
Operations Task
Force-
Philippines; P-8
Poseidon Patrol
Aircraft
MNNA; sales on
coastguard cutter and
frigates; assist in
modernizing PH’s
army; assist to enhance
PH’s maritime domain
awareness conduct
patrol in South China
Sea; IMET;
intelligence sharing
Yes
Singapore
2005 Strategic
Framework
Agreement for a
Closer Cooperation
Partnership in
Defense and
Security
Forward
Operating
Sites(FOS); Four
Littoral Combat
Ships*; P-8
Poseidon Patrol
Aircraft**
PSI; MNNA***; help
to upgrade equipment;
military training and
intelligence sharing
Not
formal,
yet
quasi-
ally
Thailand
1954 Manila Pact;
1962 Rusk-Thanat
Communiqué; 2012
Joint Vision
Statement for the
Thai-U.S. Defense
Alliance
N.A. MNNA; IMET;
intelligence sharing Yes
Malaysia N.A. N.A.
Assist in advancing
Malaysian maritime
domain awareness
(e.g., offer coastal
surveillance radar
system to Malaysia);
IMET
No
Indonesia
2005 Framework
Arrangement on
Cooperative
Activities in the
Field of Defense
N.A. IMET No
Brunei N.A. N.A. PSI No
Vietnam N.A. N.A.
Shore up Vietnam’s
maritime security
capacity; transferred 5
patrol vessels and
partially lift arms
embargo; provided
FMF for Vietnam since
2009; IMET; PSI
No
10
Defense
Agreement
Military
Deployment Other Commitments
Treaty
Ally
Myanmar N.A. N.A. IMET**** No
Laos N.A. N.A. IMET No
Cambodia N.A. N.A.
Assistance on military
equipment; vehicle
maintenance and
logistical management
training; IMET
No
Note: MNNA: Major non-NATO Ally; FMF: Foreign Military Financing; IMET: International Military
Education and Training; PSI: Proliferation Security Initiative.
*not yet in force, but the Philippines’ highest court has approved this deal on January 13, 2016.
**in plan
***US designated, but Singapore declined.
****since 2015
Source: Rinehart (2015); Manyin (2014), Chanlett-Avery et al. (2015), Vaughn (2011); Lum (2013),
U.S. Department of Defense (n.d.).
Variables
Dependent Variables
The dependent variable in this paper is the effectiveness of hedging strategy. We
aim to assess and compare the hedging effectiveness of the Philippines as well as of
Singapore. For SEA countries, the implications and niches of the United States and
China are different. While the United States is their security protector, China is their
economic driver, as shown in Table 4.
Table 4. SEA Countries’ Hedging Objectives
Toward
US
Security: a. enhancing strategic ties to avoid being abandoned
b. promoting autonomy to avoid being entrapped
Economy: US’s provision of trade surplus, investment, and crucial
skills, etc.
Toward
China
Security: a. socializing China to reduce the risk of revisionist China
b. advancing relations to avoid conflict and make peace
Economy: China’s provision of export market, supply chain, soft loans
and grants, etc.
Therefore, we evaluate the effectiveness of Singapore’s and the Philippines’s
hedging strategy from two aspects: economy and security. On the one hand, we analyze
the two countries’ trade, investment, and economic arrangements with the US and
China. On the other hand, in terms of security, we examine the security relationships
11
between the two countries and the US as well as China.
In economic realm, the primary indicator on testing SEA hedgers’ efficacy is
acquiring economic benefits from China. In addition, SEA hedgers’ secondary objective
in the economic realm is to maintain economic interests from the United States. In
security area, SEA hedgers’ primary objective is to strengthen security ties with the
United States. SEA hedgers’ secondary objective in the security realm is to advance
security relations with China via hedging (see Table 5).
Table 5. The Indicators of Hedging’s Effectiveness
Dimensions Indicators
Economy
Primary:
Acquiring economic benefits from China
Secondary:
Maintaining economic interests from the US
Security
Primary:
Strengthening security ties with the US
Secondary:
Advancing security relations with China
Independent Variables
The independent variables include hedging strategy, domestic politics, and
enduring rivalry with target states. Based on the existing literature, we expect that a
hedger will reap economic and security benefits from China as well as from the United
States. We also expect that the more influential the domestic politics in the hedger, the
more difficult it is for the hedger to gain these benefits. Additionally, we expect that if
a hedger has enduring rivalries with target states, it is less likely to obtain benefits via
hedging strategy.
Assessment of the Effectiveness of Hedging
Acquiring Economic Benefits from China and Maintaining Economic Interests from the
United States
From Table 6 and Table 7, we can see the trend indicates both Singapore and the
Philippines are increasingly dependent on China’s market and less reliant on the US
market. From 1995 to 2014, Singapore’s export dependence on China grew steadily
from 2.3% to 12.6%, at an increase of nearly 6 times. On the other hand, Singapore’s
12
reliance on the United States declined from 18.3% to 5.9%. Like many SEA states,
Singapore’s export dependence on China has surpassed their dependence on the United
States. As for the Philippines, the share of exports to China in its world exports climbed
from 1.2% to 13.0% from 1995 to 2014, whereas meanwhile its share of exports to the
United States dropped from 35.8% to 14.1%. These numbers suggest that Singapore
and the Philippines have increasingly shifted their major trade focuses from the United
States to China.
In terms of foreign direct investment (FDI), the Unites States remains a key
provider to Singapore and the Philippines, and Thailand in 2012. On the other hand,
China plays a much less important role than the United States in these two hedgers’ FDI
sources (see Table 8).
Finally, as shown in Table 9, both Singapore and the Philippines have successfully
made several economic arrangements with China and the United States. Singapore
concluded China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (CSFTA), US-Singapore Free Trade
Agreement (USSFTA), and Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between Singapore and
the US. The Philippines, on the other hand, has fewer economic deals with the great
powers than Singapore. It singed BIT and Trade and Investment Framework Agreement
(TIFA) with the US, and joined the US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).
Additionally, both Singapore and the Philippines joined China-ASEAN Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA) and Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM), and they
are the founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) led by
China, and the negotiation partners of the Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP). Singapore also inked the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) (AIIB
n.d.; Chalongphob Sussangkarn 2010; International Enterprise Singapore n.d.;
UNCTAD n.d.; USTR n.d.).1
The developments above show that Singapore and the Philippines have been
incorporated more deeply with China and the United Sates, and have acquired more
economic benefits from trade, investment, and important economic deals. This trend
also indicates that despite having enduring rivalry with China, the Philippines can
obtain economic returns from the China via hedging strategy.
Moreover, the combination of high levels of trade flow, FDI stocks, the integration
1 RCEP is under negotiation and expected to be finished in 2016; TPP signed on February 3, 2016.
13
of production networks, and economic arrangements between Singapore and the
Philippines with China and the United States may also lead to some positive political-
security effects on bilateral relations (Chan 2013; Gartzke, Li, and Boehmer 2001;
Mansfield and Pevehouse 2000; Maoz 2009; Pang 2007). As long as China maintains
policies of reassurance rather than taking a revisionist route, and the United States
maintains a pivot-to-Asia policy, Singapore and the Philippines would continue to take
advantage of the thriving Chinese economy and a stronger US commitment.
Table 6. Share of Exports to China (%)
1995 2000 2005 2010 2014
Singapore 2.33 3.42 8.61 10.36 12.55
the
Philippines 1.20 1.74 9.89 11.09 12.98
Source: Calculated from International Monetary Fund (IMF), Direction of Trade Statistics CD-ROM,
December 2015.
Table 7. Share of Exports to the US (%)
1995 2000 2005 2010 2014
Singapore 18.25 17.31 10.41 6.53 5.91
the
Philippines 35.77 29.85 18.02 14.72 14.13
Source: Calculated from IMF, Direction of Trade Statistics.
Table 8. 2012 FDI Stock from China/the United States
Millions of US Dollars
China US
Singapore 11,646
(7)
87,834
(2)
the Philippines 301
(6)
7,646
(1)
Note: The number in parentheses denotes rank among SEA countries; China’s data do not include
Hong Kong and Macau.
Source: Calculated from UNCTAD FDI/TNC database, “Bilateral FDI Statistics,”
http://unctad.org/en/Pages/DIAE/FDI%20Statistics/FDI-Statistics-Bilateral.aspx.
Table 9. Important Economic Arrangements with China/the US
China US
Singapore CAFTA; CSFTA; BIT; CMIM;
AIIB USSFTA; (TPP)
the Philippines CAFTA; BIT; CMIM; AIIB TIFA; GSP
Note: All included signed agreements and agreements in force.
14
Strengthening Security Ties with the US
Both Singapore and the Philippines have embraced the US security commitment,
public goods (e.g., conducting freedom of navigation operations and maintaining
stability in the region), defense cooperation (e.g., military exercises, military training,
and intelligence sharing), arms transfers, military deployment, and other assistances
(e.g., US Foreign Military Financing).
While the relationship between the Philippines and China has been worsen due to
the dispute in South China Sea, the relationship between the Philippines and the US has
been enhanced. The US has provided the Philippines with three Hamilton-Class Coast
Guard Cutters through its Excess Defense Articles (EDA) in order to improve the
maritime combat capacity of the Philippines. For example, the US has transferred BRP
Gregorio del Pilar and BRP Ramon Alcaraz as well as twelve used F-16 aircrafts to the
Philippines. Moreover, Robert Willard, the then Commander of US Pacific Command,
said that the US would like to expand the presence in Southeast Asia and proposed to
deploy more reconnaissance planes and Littoral Combat Ships (LaGrone 2013; Yap
2011).
In terms of the military modernization, the US has offered the Philippine Coast
Guard training and telecommunication equipment, strengthened its maritime domain
awareness, and enhanced intelligence sharing and interoperability between the US
forces and the Philippines forces. In addition, the US also helped the Philippines
establish National Coast Watch Center. All the efforts are conducive to Philippine
maritime safety and deterrence capability against China in the South China Sea (Agence
France-Presse 2011; De Castro 2011, 249; Manila Bulletin 2013; Philippine Daily
Inquirer 2012; Simon 2012). In 2014, the US and the Philippines even inked a milestone
agreement: Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), further expanding US
military presence in the Philippines, such as rotational deployments in Philippine bases
(Thayer 2014; U.S. Embassy in the Philippines 2014).
In 2005, Singapore and the US signed Strategic Framework Agreement for a
Closer Cooperation Partnership in Defense and Security (SFA). This agreement is
significant for advancing Singapore-US security relations. Through SFA, these two
countries have fostered cooperation on anti-terrorism, nonproliferation, joint exercise
and training, intelligence sharing, and defense technology. Moreover, the US has
deployed four Littoral Combat Ships in Singaporean waters, including USS Freedom,
15
USS Independence, USS Fort Worth, and USS Coronado. Singapore has become the
fulcrum of US’s forward deployment in Asia-Pacific (Bitzinger 2011; Huxley 2013).
Additionally, Singapore and the US have conducted a wealth of joint military exercises,
Southeast Asia Cooperation against Terrorism (SEACAT), Cobra Gold, Exercise
Commando Sling, Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT), and Rim of
the Pacific (RIMPAC) (see Table 9).
Advancing Security Relations with China
The bright side of Singapore’s and the Philippines’s relations with China is that
they have improved security relations with China via a series of CBMs, including
annual security consultation, regular joint exercises, or other military exchanges (see
Table 10 and Table 11). Meanwhile, these hedging acts do not harm the US- Singapore
relations and the US-Philippines relations. In addition, both China and the United States
signed ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC).
However, there are still some limitations in Singapore’s and the Philippines’s
relations with China and the United States. These limits are mainly due to asymmetrical
capability, the feature of ASEAN soft institutionalism2 , and domestic politics. Even
though a wealth of official statements and initiatives has been issued by China, they
often lack substance. Moreover, the Philippines does not bind China via institutions and
norms as much as the hedging perspective predicts. The South China Sea issue is a hard
test. Although China signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South
China Sea (DOC) in 2002, a political document without legal binding, DOC neither
establishes verification and punishment mechanisms, nor copes with thorny issues, such
as resources development and conflict resolution (Storey 2011, 144–50). Additionally,
because China is afraid of SEA countries forming a united front and having greater
bargaining power, it prefers bilateralism rather than a binding multilateral approach to
addressing the South China Sea issue. Thus, the Code of Conduct in the South China
Sea (COC) delays progress. Hedging has not greatly improved the Philippines-China
relations as hedging perspective widely predicts.
Furthermore, despite ASEAN being the key driver and agenda-setter in the
regional institutional building as many scholars argue (Jones 2010; Kim 2012; Stubbs
2014), the soft institutionalism practiced by SEA states may make ASEAN Regional
2 For ASEAN soft institutionalism, see Amitav Acharya (2002); Khong and Nesadurai (2007).
16
Forum (ARF), ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus 8 (ADMM+8), and other
ASEAN-driven mechanisms fail to reach a consensus, bind great powers, and manage
conflict in the foreseeable future (Goh 2011, 373–401; Jones and Jenne 2016; Jones and
Smith 2007, 144–69). Meanwhile, in responding to US rebalancing and active
involvement in the South China Sea in recent years, China has become more assertive
in continuing to develop anti-access/area-denial (A2/D2), and even claiming the South
China Sea issue belongs to China’s “core interest” as well as to the core interests of
Tibet and Taiwan (Krepinevich 2009, 22–23; Storey 2011, 78–96; Wong 2011).
Tensions have grown between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea
in recent years. While close economic linkages are sometimes conducive to obtaining
benefits and reducing conflict, they also might lead to asymmetries in dependence and
thus become an important source of influence for big power (Keohane and Nye 2001,
9–16, 196–97). For instance, although the Philippines has enjoyed economic gains from
China in recent years, it simultaneously has born the costs due to asymmetrical
interdependence with China. After the Scarborough Shoal confrontation in 2012, China
took advantage of the Philippines’ high vulnerability, and punished the latter by
resorting to economic sanctions on the major Filipino import to China: bananas (Cuneta
and Hookway 2012). From 2011 to 2014, the Philippines’ ratio of China’s total banana
imports dropped from 91% to 68%.3 These examples suggest a slender chance of China
being compromised with the Philippines in the South China Sea.
Although China has demonstrated restraint since 2002, it is only willing to have
functional cooperation with SEA countries to buy time (Fravel 2011; Storey 1999).
China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea make the argument that China has been
enmeshed or socialized through a hedging strategy seem too optimistic and need to be
examined further. Additionally, SEA countries have been divided by the United States
and China, especially since the United States pivoted to Asia and South China Sea
tensions escalated (Ross 2013, 31–35). For example, due to different attitudes toward
great powers among the ASEAN members and the lack of internal unity, ASEAN was
unable to issue a joint communiqué in the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting for the
first time since its establishment in 2012, and failed again to reach consensus in the
Fourth ADMM+8 in 2015 (BBC 2012; Shoji and Tomikawa 2016, 153–54).
3 Calculated from the ITC Trade Map Database, http://www.trademap.org/.
17
Overall, the South China Sea issue indeed affected the Philippines-China relations,
thereby making the Philippines’s hedging less effective in advancing security relations
with China than Singapore’s. For example, Singapore and China inked “All-Round
Cooperative Partnership Progressing with the Times in 2015,” suggesting their close
relations. The Philippines and China, in contrast, have remained “Strategic and
Cooperative Relationship for Peace and Development” since 2005. This contrast shows
that the enduring rivalry with the target state has negative influence on the effectiveness
of hedging, particularly on advancing security relations with China.
Table 10. The Military Exercise with China/the United States, 2002-2015
China US
Singapore
“Cooperation”-Joint Training
Exercise (2009); Exercise
Maritime Cooperation (2015)
Exercise Tiger Balm (1980), Cobra Gold
(2000), Exercise Commando Sling
(1990); SEACAT; “Merlion”-Naval
Exercise; CARAT (1996); RIMPAC
(2014)
the Philippines N.A.* Balikatan; PHIBLEX; CARAT (1996);
RIMPAC (2014)
Note: a. Only regular exercises counted. b. The numbers in parentheses represent the inaugural year.
*Held Joint Marine Search-and-Rescue Exercise in 2004, but stopped afterward.
Source: Straits Times (2015); Xinhua News Agency (2009); U.S. Marine Corps (n.d.); Commander of
U.S. Pacific Fleet (2014); U.S. Department of Defense (n.d.).
Table 11. Confidence-Building Measures with China
Annual
Security
Consultation
Strategic/Cooperative
Partners
Other
Measures via ASEAN
Singapore Yes (2008)
All-Round
Cooperative
Partnership
Progressing with the
Times (2015)
Port visit,
military
personnel
exchange,
national
defence
report, or hot
line.
ARF (1994); China-
ASEAN Strategic
Partnership for Peace
and Prosperity
(2003); ADMM+8
(2010); informal
China-ASEAN
Defence Ministers’
Meeting (2011);
Expanded ASEAN
Maritime Forum
(2012)
the Philippines Yes (2005)
Strategic and
Cooperative
Relationship for
Peace and
Development (2005)
Note: The numbers in parentheses denote inaugural year.
Hedging Strategy and Domestic Politics
Although hedgers have opportunities to gain more benefits from the great powers,
18
there are abundant cases showing the influence of domestic politics on hedging
effectiveness. The domestic politics factor in Singapore is not as salient as in the
Philippines. The Philippines has protectionist inclinations and highly divided domestic
groups, thus constraining its government’ hedging capabilities. Some of the economic
cooperation deals between the Philippines and China or the United States are stalled or
blocked by domestic players (Naya and Plummer 2005, 294; Solingen 2008, 25;
Tongzon 2005). For instance, despite the Philippines expressed high interests in joining
TPP, the domestic factors, including the degree of liberalization, local regulations, and
interest groups, limit their ambitions to adopt dual tracks: TPP and RCEP, which are
integral for hedgers to reap both benefits from the great powers. In contrast, Singapore
is more maneuverable because of its lack of significant influence of domestic politics.
Also, some studies indicate that nationalism had impacts on Philippine foreign
policies. For instance, in 2004, the Philippines and China singed Joint Marine Seismic
Undertaking (JMSU), agreeing to have joint exploration on natural gas and oil in the
South China Sea. However, because of strong opposition in the Philippines, Philippine
government was forced to cease this cooperation deal (Baviera 2012; Emmers 2010,
75–80, 132; Tan 2010, 42–43). These examples indicate that domestic factors have the
potentials for impeding hedging effects, such as delaying the cooperation process
between the Philippines and China.
Conclusion and Discussion
Overall, we found that Singapore and the Philippines have enhanced security ties
with the United States and acquired economic benefits from China. However, while
prior literature claims that a hedger can maximize national interests from the United
States and China, we found that some factors may constrain the efficacy of hedging.
Hedging’s effectiveness diminished in the Philippines because of its domestic politics
and enduring rivalry, i.e., territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea.
Singapore’s hedging strategy, on the other hand, is more effective because of its lack of
salient effect of domestic politics and enduring rivalry with any great power. In other
words, while both Singapore and the Philippines employ hedging, the enduring rivalry
with China and domestic politics in the Philippines make its effectiveness different from
Singapore.
Our analysis extends existing literature on hedging and on SEA countries’ relations
19
with China and the United States. First, we offer contributions to the research on the
hedging concept, which has not been clearly defined nor thoroughly explored in terms
of its the differences from other well-developed strategic concepts. We clarify hedging
as a strategy combining different tools (e.g., military modernization cum warm trade
exchanges), separating issue-areas (e.g., traditional security, non-traditional security,
trade, and investment), and diversifying target states (e.g., the United States and China).
Second, we argue that specific areas show different results. In the economic realm,
minor powers in SEA can reap benefits from China and the United States. Moreover,
as the case of the Philippines indicates, even though having the enduring rivalry with
China, the Philippines still can reap economic returns from China via hedging. On the
other hand, in the military-security area, due to the South China Sea issue and domestic
constraints, the Philippines gained fewer benefits than in the economic realm. Therefore,
this paper suggests that future examinations of strategic ties between SEA hedgers and
major powers need to consider the separation of issue areas and the influence of
domestic politics and structural factors (e.g., enduring rivalry with great powers).
This research addresses only a few aspects of the larger set of issues related to
hedging and SEA’s relations with China and the Unites States. Some important
questions that merit further examination include the factors that account for minor
powers’ preference for hedging and their openness to change. Will hedging stop because
the relations between the United States and China worsen? Why, when and how does
hedging cease? These are questions worth future research.
20
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