Cybersecurity and the foreign policy of the Philippines

26 June 2020

Cyberspace has emerged as a strategic domain for state interactions but its strong potential for espionage, sabotage and subversion, has also made it a predominant source of insecurity. While the Philippines are still trying to make strategic sense of cyberspace, the idea of a “cyber revolution” has militarized the responses of powerful states, advancing the development of capabilities for computer network operations. The cyber revolution is based on three widely held assumptions by Western military forces: cyberspace enables asymmetric advantages; cyberspace is offense-dominant; and deterrence is ultimately difficult.

Following this trend, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) developed a “Cyber Group” with the support of the United States, to strengthen the capacity of the military to protect state interests in cyberspace. While securing cyberspace is an inescapable task for any government, the AFP cannot exploit the advantages of networked technologies without the guidance of a coherent foreign policy articulated by its political leaders.

The current government under Rodrigo Duterte has decided to distance itself from Washington and work with China towards developing a third telecommunications provider and with Russia for cybersecurity capacity building.

Defining a clear foreign policy direction has been a central challenge for the Philippines since it decided to limit its reliance on the USA by ordering the closure of its military bases in 1991. Since then, attempts by successive presidents to provide a clear foreign policy direction have been problematic because of disagreements over national security priorities as well as the limited capacity of the military in addressing external security threats.

In terms of priorities, most presidents in the post-Marcos era have focused their efforts on internal security threats such as terrorism and political violence despite repeated violations against Philippine territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea. In terms of capacity, all presidents have exerted effort in enhancing the capabilities of the AFP, however these modernization initiatives have not always been consistent with the requirements of a modern military force, instead focusing mainly on upgrading capabilities for the purposes of internal security.

The absence of a coherent foreign policy makes it difficult for the military to harness the opportunities afforded by network technologies because of at least three reasons. First, foreign policy incoherence disorients the development of cyber capabilities. Studies on cyber conflict suggest that the most compelling reasons why states develop capabilities for computer network operations are to defend critical networks against cyber intrusions and to indirectly signal foreign policy preferences to an adversary.

Since cyber operations are typically secret or at the very least covert, they need to have a clear purpose which has been developed in line with the foreign policy interests of the state. In this sense, it would be problematic for the military to develop cyber capabilities without a clear foreign policy defined by its political leaders. An example of incoherence is the foreign policy alignment of the Philippines over the last twenty years. The Philippines has employed various foreign policy strategies, from balancing against China, to hedging between China and the US, and more recently, appeasing China. These changes have been implemented without the contingencies required to manage the associated consequences, thereby leaving the Philippines at a constant disadvantage.

Second, foreign policy incoherence disrupts the implementation of a strategy to manage cyber interactions. New strategic instruments such as cyber capabilities will be ineffective if these capabilities are not governed by a clear and evolving strategy. The release of the National Cyber Security Plan 2022 (NCSP) in 2016 was a progressive move by the government. The NCSP is significant because it signals to the international community that the Philippines has a strategy to counter cyber threats and it clarifies the purpose of the state for developing capabilities for computer network operations.

However, the lack of a coherent foreign policy direction from Manila makes it difficult for government agencies like the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the AFP to design their strategies to reinforce the foreign policy interests of the Philippines. As it stands, the cyber strategy of the Philippines is still focused on countering internal security threats despite the occurrence of sophisticated cyber intrusions linked to China, North Korea, and Vietnam.

Third, foreign policy incoherence complicates international cooperation in the area of cybersecurity. Cooperation in the area of cybersecurity is difficult to begin with because states have less incentives to share information about their cyber capabilities given the transitory nature of cyber weapons. A confusing foreign policy direction further compounds the difficulty of international cooperation because powerful states tend to provide less opportunities to cooperate with weaker states that are unsure of their foreign policy alignment. A key example of how a confused foreign policy complicates things in cybersecurity cooperation exists in the area of capacity building.

The Philippines has been collaborating with the US to strengthen its response to cyber threats but due to tension between their respective political leaders, the current government under Rodrigo Duterte decided to distance itself from Washington and work with China towards developing a third telecommunications provider and with Russia for cybersecurity capacity building. While collaborating with competing powers can contribute to the development of an independent foreign policy, it can also be a detrimental strategy that limits opportunities for cooperation.

The use of network technologies as tools for foreign policy is the new normal for states in international relations. The creation of the cyber strategy as well as building the cyber capacity of the military are crucial steps to strengthen cybersecurity but these initiatives have limited impact without the guidance of a coherent foreign policy. In employing networked technologies strategically, the main consideration for the Philippines at this point is not the enhancement of its technical and military capabilities but its ability to define the direction of its foreign policy.

DISCLAIMER: All views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of the 9DASHLINE.com platform.

Author biography

Francis C. Domingo is Assistant Professor of the International Studies Department at De La Salle University. He was a Teaching Fellow in Cybersecurity and International Relations at Victoria University Wellington in 2016. Image credit: US Navy.

Pacific9DLJune 26, 2020China, Philippines, Cyber, Foreign Policy, Cyber Security