International Development and Security Cooperation (IDSC)

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Fostering trade and security in the region! IDSC in Indonesia!

"Les Philippines sont un marché émergent pour l'industrie de la défense", a déclaré Chester Cabalza, président d'un groupe de réflexion basé à Manille, International Development and Security Cooperation. Manille a alloué 35 milliards de dollars à ce renforcement, étalé sur les dix prochaines années, alors qu'elle fait face à la Chine dans des affrontements maritimes et aériens sur des zones contestées de la mer de Chine méridionale, une voie d'eau très fréquentée. Chester Cabalza, voorzitter van International Development and Security Cooperation, benadrukte de status van de Filippijnen als opkomende markt voor de defensie-industrie. Manilla heeft voor de komende tien jaar 35 miljard dollar uitgetrokken om zijn militaire capaciteiten te versterken, een stap die rechtstreeks is beïnvloed door de confrontaties met China over betwiste gebieden in de Zuid-Chinese Zee. “Onze strategische kwesties met China hebben de aandacht getrokken van defensiebedrijven,” verklaarde Cabalza. De tentoonstelling is een bewijs van de steun van gelijkgestemde landen, waarvan er veel partners en bondgenoten van de Filippijnen zijn. 马尼拉智库“国际发展与安全合作”组织主席切斯特·卡巴尔扎（Chester Cabalza）表示，“菲律宾是国防工业的新兴市场。” 路透社引用卡巴尔扎的话说，“我们与中国之间的战略利益纠纷引起了国防承包商的关注，这次展览展示了来自志同道合国家的支持，其中许多国家是我们的合作伙伴和盟友。” https://lnkd.in/gaWvKHX5

Chester Cabalza, president of the Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation (IDSC) think tank, told This Week in Asia that the Philippines was aiming to achieve interoperability with its allies and partners with the Typhon and other systems. “Manila is not engaged in an arms race since it is still catching up with its neighbours. Arms race can [only] be construed if the competitor has the same defence and technological edge as the other party,” Cabalza said. Speaking on the sidelines of the 5th Asian Defence and Security Exhibition in Pasay City on Wednesday, Teodoro criticised Beijing’s interference in Manila’s internal affairs over the Typhon’s deployment. “That’s what China is saying but they are the ones that made the first move. For us, we are only defending our country. If they say that there is an arms race, they are the bigger country, they should be an example,” Teodoro told reporters. Teodoro said China was using “reverse psychology” to deter the Philippines from building its defensive capabilities, but the country would persevere in modernising its military. “Why don’t they lead by example? Don’t throw stones when you live in a glass house, and that goes for other countries that are worried about our defensive capability enhancement,” he said. Speaking at a doorstop interview on the sidelines of the same event attended by Teodoro, Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner Jnr said Manila would need more vessels to secure its territories against China. “We need ships so that we have an effective presence in the West Philippine Sea because the name of the game is presence. Whoever is there in the West Philippine Sea, they control the area,” Brawner said. On the Typhon, Brawner said the system should be a permanent asset of the Philippine military as it could boost the country’s defence capabilities. https://lnkd.in/g_ZZhhJG

However, as pointed out by defense analyst Chester Cabalza, “it is not impossible for China to infiltrate the Philippines with its own agents and doomed spies” who likewise feed false information to Filipinos. Cabalza told INQUIRER.net that “they come in many forms.” “[They] lure locals with a big sum of money to work for them and get critical information for their operations inside the Philippines, and [even] foreign affairs and defense operations,” he said. Cabalza, president of the think tank International Development and Security Cooperation (IDSC), stressed that “they may come in as students and tourists and new recruits in auxiliary forces.” “They can be businessmen, expats, collaborators of local think tanks, diplomats, academics who used to work in the defense and security sector, janitors, and even politicians and celebrities,” he said. This, as he pointed out what the Chinese general and strategist Sun Tzu had stated in his classic “Art of War”—espionage can become a tool to advance national interest against rival alliances and “realpolitik”. Cabalza explained that “although China was not a global colonial power in the past since the European colonial era, its bloody and dynastic terrestrial expansion became templates to its espionage acts.” It is projected in its “divide and rule” regime, where it would not even need to wage an actual war against its adversaries, like the Philippines, which is fighting for its sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea. “As a rising superpower, now having the largest air, cyber, maritime, terrestrial, and space assets, an imposition by China to build a stout and powerful intelligence system and espionage act is inevitable,” he said. This, given China’s “aspirational dream of becoming the leading nation-state on Earth.” As Cabalza said, “China’s expansive efforts to build well-trained and well-oiled spies lie in the success of their military operations” in the Philippines and all over the world. “China is creating a web of intelligence institutions using various diplomatic, cultural, educational, and trade assets and networks to achieve their strategic goals,” especially of attaining supremacy in the region and the world, he said. As Cabalza said, “superpowers usually use foreign and counterintelligence to advance their interests and grand strategy through their diplomatic, informational, military and economic clouts and networks.” “From ancient to postmodern times espionage, a double-edged sword is used by major powers for creeping invasion, colonialism and imperialism,” he told INQUIRER.net. Cabalza said that the weaponization of economics is prevalent as a leverage for trade pacts and foreign investments, stressing that “they usually pin down the weaknesses of a certain nation.”

For a security analyst, it is not a farfetched idea for China to sink Philippine ships, including the Teresa Magbanua and the Sierra Madre, as part of its increasing aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea. “That’s a military victory for China if they could sink BRP Teresa Magbanua. Because their end goal is to reduce our resupply missions,” Chester Cabalza, founding president of the International Development and Security Cooperation (IDSC), told “Storycon” on One News yesterday. “And the next thing to do is to sink BRP Sierra Madre … you see that kind of logic. But of course, it’s not an easy game for China,” he added. While a possibility, Cabalza underscored the consequences of such actions, particularly the response of the international community. “We have a strong law fare, the legal approach,” he said, referring to the 2016 arbitration that invalidated China’s expansive claim in South China Sea. “Their (China) strategy is the use of violence, ramming and crashing, because they really have a weak narrative … weak legal claims in the West Philippine Sea,” he added. Cabalza said the situation in Escoda is different from what happened in Panatag Shoal during the standoff in 2012. Escoda, he said, has multiple entry points, which would make it difficult for China to block access. “This is just Round 1. It will not end there,” he said. https://lnkd.in/gAPAr-fH

However, as pointed out by defense analyst Chester Cabalza, “it is not impossible for China to infiltrate the Philippines with its own agents and doomed spies” who likewise feed false information to Filipinos. Cabalza told INQUIRER.net that “they come in many forms.” “[They] lure locals with a big sum of money to work for them and get critical information for their operations inside the Philippines, and [even] foreign affairs and defense operations,” he said. Cabalza, president of the think tank International Development and Security Cooperation (IDSC), stressed that “they may come in as students and tourists and new recruits in auxiliary forces.” “They can be businessmen, expats, collaborators of local think tanks, diplomats, academics who used to work in the defense and security sector, janitors, and even politicians and celebrities,” he said. This, as he pointed out what the Chinese general and strategist Sun Tzu had stated in his classic “Art of War”—espionage can become a tool to advance national interest against rival alliances and “realpolitik”. Cabalza explained that “although China was not a global colonial power in the past since the European colonial era, its bloody and dynastic terrestrial expansion became templates to its espionage acts.” It is projected in its “divide and rule” regime, where it would not even need to wage an actual war against its adversaries, like the Philippines, which is fighting for its sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea. “As a rising superpower, now having the largest air, cyber, maritime, terrestrial, and space assets, an imposition by China to build a stout and powerful intelligence system and espionage act is inevitable,” he said. This, given China’s “aspirational dream of becoming the leading nation-state on Earth.” As Cabalza said, “China’s expansive efforts to build well-trained and well-oiled spies lie in the success of their military operations” in the Philippines and all over the world. “China is creating a web of intelligence institutions using various diplomatic, cultural, educational, and trade assets and networks to achieve their strategic goals,” especially of attaining supremacy in the region and the world, he said. As Cabalza said, “superpowers usually use foreign and counterintelligence to advance their interests and grand strategy through their diplomatic, informational, military and economic clouts and networks.” “From ancient to postmodern times espionage, a double-edged sword is used by major powers for creeping invasion, colonialism and imperialism,” he told INQUIRER.net. Cabalza said that the weaponization of economics is prevalent as a leverage for trade pacts and foreign investments, stressing that “they usually pin down the weaknesses of a certain nation.”

During her deployment at Escoda Shoal, she challenged encirclement by a larger flotilla of intruders, battled inclement weather, with her crew surviving on diminished daily provisions. BRP Teresa Magbanua withdrew from Escoda Shoal and sailed back to its home port in Palawan but the National Maritime Council (NMC) says another ship will take its place, refuting China’s boasts that the Philippines “retreated.” As this developed, Chester Cabalza, president and founder of the think-tank International Development and Security Cooperation (IDSC), said the PCG’s exit from Escoda Shoal was a good move in the interim because it would decrease tensions between China and Philippines. “Although there was no joint communiqué in the 10th BCM (Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea), wherein the Escoda Shoal issue was discussed, perhaps this was the best decision for the meantime to maintain peace and order in the disputed largest reef.” he told the Manila Standard. He was referring to the talks that took place in Beijing last Wednesday, wherein Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Maria Theresa Lazaro and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong agreed to approach the simmering maritime dispute “through peaceful dialogue.” Immediately following that meeting Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Teresita Lazaro said that the Philippines has not changed its stance that Escoda Shoal lies within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). https://lnkd.in/dniCyjVn

Fortifying the Philippines’ external security requires a strong and self-reliant defence posture, according to analyst Chester Cabalza, president of the Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation (IDSC) think tank. The Philippine Navy once excelled in shipbuilding, leveraging the skills of Filipino seafarers and marine engineers, he said. But a lack of government support and lingering mistrust of the military following the rule of the current president’s authoritarian father, Ferdinand Marcos Snr, caused these capabilities to lapse, according to Cabalza. That was until “the aggressive rise of China”, he said. In the years since, substantial naval investments have been made, and maritime diplomacy expanded, “to strengthen collective deterrence as a clever countermeasure” to the increased Chinese presence in the South China Sea. The Philippine Navy has made moderate gains in global military rankings, Cabalza noted, shedding its previous image as a regional weakling. While the addition of new corvettes and guided missile frigates has bolstered the naval arsenal, he emphasised the need for further acquisitions, particularly submarines and BrahMos missiles. “The Philippine navy is almost on par now with Malaysia’s,” Cabalza said, though Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore still maintain larger naval assets. By prioritising joint operations and interoperability with like-minded navies, the Philippine Navy is steadily learning from maritime technological advancements across the region and the globe, he said. “Beijing may have an armada of naval and coastguard vessels,” Cabalza said, but Manila has the backing of influential international navies like those of the US, Australia and Europe. “This certainly multiplies the Philippines’ naval strength as these global navies support Manila’s adherence to maritime rules-based order,” he added. US carriers, by contrast, have been battle tested and “can match China’s capabilities,” Cabalza said. This would allow Manila to leverage “a minilateral naval order” to bolster its maritime readiness and strengthen alliances, he said.