MANILA – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise visit to Manila, wherein he thanked his Philippine counterpart for agreeing to attend the upcoming Ukraine Peace Summit in Switzerland.
The Ukrainian leader had hoped to meet Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, where the latter was the keynote speaker, but scheduling conflicts prevented the two leaders from meeting so Zelensky decided to fly directly to Manila instead.
During his visit to the Malacañang Palace, the Ukrainian leader thanked the Marcos Jr administration for sending a “very strong signal” of solidarity and support by agreeing to attend the high-level peace summit, which excludes Russia and has been boycotted by China and its allies.
Zelensky also thanked his Filipino hosts for their “clear position” on Russia’s “occupation of our territories,” referring to the Philippines’ consistent record of supporting Ukraine in five different United Nations resolutions during the first year of the conflict. Only Japan and South Korea, both major democracies, have had similar voting records in the region.
Underscoring his commitment to long-term strategic cooperation, the Ukrainian leader vowed to open a new embassy in Manila while seeking the Philippines’ assistance in dealing with post-war trauma among large numbers of Ukrainian soldiers.
Renowned for its world-class healthcare professionals, the Southeast Asian nation is in a unique position to provide desperately needed medical help to the war-ravaged nation.
Zelensky’s historic visit to Manila is also part of a broader effort to forge an “alliance of democracies” among besieged nations from Eastern Europe to the Western Pacific facing threats from authoritarian superpowers.
For the Philippines, warming ties with Ukraine mark a dramatic shift in its foreign policy orientation after six years of the staunchly anti-American and pro-China Rodrigo Duterte presidency.
Closer Ukraine-Philippine ties are also a response to growing cooperation between Russia and China, which have jointly pushed for a “new world order” to replace the liberal order forged after World War II and upheld since by the US, West and their allies.
Not long ago, the Philippines and Ukraine were moving in diametrically opposed directions.
Although nominally a liberal democracy and a US treaty ally, the Philippines began to dramatically upgrade its relations with the authoritarian powers of Russia and China.
During his term in office, Duterte visited Moscow on two occasions and repeatedly underscored his preference for warmer ties with his “favorite hero” and “idol” Vladimir Putin.
Under Duterte’s watch, Russian warships docked in Manila Bay for the first time in history. After boarding the visiting warships, Duterte called upon his guests to be “our ally to protect us,” thus effectively implying that his anti-Western regime was threatened by Washington.
In another first, Moscow also dispatched a defense attaché to Manila in order to explore large-scale military cooperation as well as defense acquisitions, including submarines, fighter jets and rifles.
The Russian connection became vital for Duterte when the US State Department froze a shipment of firearms to the Philippine National Police and deferred a major economic aid package in response to widespread extrajudicial killings under his war on drugs campaign.
For its part, Moscow vowed to offer affordable and effective weapons systems to reduce Manila’s dependence on Washington.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, however, rapidly undercut burgeoning bilateral relations with a whole host of partners, including the Philippines.
Even Duterte began to change his tune following Russia’s humiliating reversals during the first months of what it referred to as a “special military operation” against Ukraine.
Amid mounting criticism and sanctions imposed against Moscow, the then-Filipino president quickly distanced himself from his Russia “idol” by stating in a mixture of Filipino and English, “The deaths [of Ukrainian civilians] may be true. But I am not like Putin. I did not order the killing of children, I do not bomb women.”
Duterte’s about-face on Russia came on the heels of gradually improving ties with Washington following US Defense Secretary of State Lloyd Austin’s visit to Manila in mid-2021 and the subsequent full-restoration of the US-Philippine Visiting Forces Agreement.
At the same time, Duterte had also begun to sour on China over festering maritime disputes in the South China Sea as well as unfulfilled pledges of large-scale infrastructure investments.
Meanwhile, the Philippines’ diplomatic elite largely stood by Western allies and Ukraine in various international fora. In fact, the Philippines became the only Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member to consistently support Ukraine and condemn Russian aggression.
So when Ferdinand Marcos Jr came to office, it was just a matter of time before the Philippines completely recalibrated its initial strategic flirtation with Russia.
Just months into office, the Marcos Jr administration made it clear that it was scrapping a US$215 million deal for Russian Mi-17 helicopters in favor of American counterparts.
The convergence between Manila and Kiev, however, was on full display during this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue talk shop, where both Marcos Jr and Zelensky stood as defenders of a rules-based international order against Russian and Chinese revanchism.
For his part, Marcos Jr criticized China’s “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions” in the South China Sea, and warned of the “permanent fact” of China’s aim to achieve “determining influence over the security situation and the economic evolution of this region.”
Meanwhile, Zelensky, who has allegedly faced multiple assassination plots by Russian agents, made a surprise visit to the major defense summit, where he zeroed in on growing Sino-Russian alignment at the expense of the current international order.
Zelensky directly questioned China’s claim to “neutrality” by accusing the Asian superpower of aiding Russian diplomatic and military efforts at the expense of peace in Ukraine.
Claiming that China’s leader Xi Jinping had earlier promised to “stand aside in this war and would not support Russia with weapons”, the Ukrainian leader echoed Western intelligence agencies by arguing there are “[Chinese] elements that are part of Russia’s weaponry.”
“It is unfortunate that such a big, independent, powerful country as China is an instrument in the hands of Putin,” the Ukrainian leader said referring to Russia’s president.
In response, China’s foreign ministry clarified that the upcoming peace summit “should have the recognition of Russia and Ukraine [as equal partners]. Otherwise, it is difficult for the conference to play a substantive role in restoring peace.”
Earlier, Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun maintained that Beijing had instituted “strict controls” on the exports of dual-use technology to Russia to preserve China’s neutrality in the Ukraine conflict.
“We have never done anything to fan the flames. We stand firmly on the side of peace and dialogue,” the Chinese defense chief said in his Shangri-La Dialogue speech.
It’s unclear how Ukraine and the Philippines, two American allies deeply dependent on Western military support, can assist each other in concrete terms.
Bilateral trade has been miniscule in recent years, with total trade amounting to only $16.9 million in 2022. There are currently only 25 Filipinos who are still residing in Ukraine, which has yet to establish a permanent mission in Manila.
Nevertheless, Marcos Jr offered immediate humanitarian and peacekeeping assistance to his Ukrainian counterpart, in addition to growing diplomatic cooperation.
“I am happy to do all that we can to make sure that we can help especially the civilians and the innocents that are involved in the war. This is something that comes naturally to the Philippines so this will be something that we could pursue,” Marcos said, signaling possible Philippine participation in post-war reconstruction and recovery.
For critics, however, Zelensky and Marcos Jr represent Western puppets who are part of a broader US-led “proxy war” against Russia and China.
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent visit to Malacañang is part of US imperialist war designs to portray Marcos Jr as the new poster boy for its proxy war versus China,” the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, the country’s main communist force, said in a statement.
“[The] stunt exposes US imperialism’s use of puppet regimes such as the Philippines and Ukraine to advance its geopolitical ambitions … By aligning Marcos Jr as a parallel of Zelensky, the US is positioning the Philippines as a key player in its broader strategy to counter its imperialist rival – China,” the statement said.
Follow Richard Javad Heydarian on X at @Richeydarian
Ukraine and the Philippines have the misfortune to be led by clowns and conmen.
zelinskii will help bbm ukrainise the philippines fast and furiously – richard, you can help too …
Losers lovefest.