Relationship dossier
Philippines
United States
Relationship assessment
A longstanding alliance combines extensive defense cooperation with periodic policy and sovereignty-related tensions.
Philippines toward United States
+65The Philippines has maintained its mutual defense treaty and Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States, hosts joint military exercises, and entered the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which permits U.S. forces access to designated Philippine facilities. The Duterte administration briefly pursued termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement before reversing course.
United States toward Philippines
+65The United States has maintained its mutual defense treaty with the Philippines, provided security assistance, and pursued expanded access and infrastructure cooperation under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. It has also supported Philippine maritime security amid disputes with China in the South China Sea.
Overall relationship
+65The alliance is anchored by a mutual defense treaty and reinforced by military-access arrangements, security assistance, and recurring exercises. These durable ties support close cooperation, while periodic Philippine policy shifts and disputes involving sovereignty, human rights, and military presence have complicated relations.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
The Philippines and the United States maintain a longstanding treaty alliance, with substantial defense cooperation, joint exercises, and arrangements facilitating U.S. military access to Philippine facilities. Cooperation has persisted through changes in Philippine policy, though relations have periodically been strained, including over the Visiting Forces Agreement and U.S. criticism of human-rights practices.
Areas of tension
- The Duterte administration's attempted termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement created uncertainty over U.S. military access.
- Philippine sovereignty concerns have periodically accompanied expanded U.S. military presence and facility access.
- U.S. criticism of human-rights practices during the Duterte administration strained relations.
Key developments
The Philippines and the United States signed a mutual defense treaty establishing their alliance.
The two governments signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, providing for U.S. access to designated Philippine military facilities.
The Duterte administration announced termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement, then reversed the decision before it took effect.
Major uncertainties
- The scale and implementation of recent defense-access and infrastructure commitments may vary with future policy decisions.
- The durability of Philippine security cooperation with the United States amid changing relations with China remains uncertain.