Philippines in Brics – would joining mend ties with China?

A senator is urging Manila to join the bloc and adopt a more balanced foreign policy amid the ‘inevitable’ march to a more multipolar world

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Brics leaders attend the 2024 summit in Kazan, Russia. Photo: dpa

Published: 8:00am, 10 Feb 2025Updated: 8:50am, 10 Feb 2025

“Host talks, not bases.” With those words, a senator in the Philippines made the case for joining Brics, a move he said would boost the country’s neutrality and position it as an advocate for a multipolar world.

But the proposal has ignited fierce debate, with critics cautioning that closer ties with a bloc in which China is a leading member could weaken Manila’s hand in its long-standing territorial row over the South China Sea.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, the Senate minority leader and a former chair of the foreign relations committee, made the case last week, saying that Brics offers a “viable alternative” to the current Western-dominated global order.

“Let the Philippines apply to join Brics,” Pimentel said in a Senate speech, arguing that membership could help the country embrace a balanced foreign policy. “The march to a multipolar world is inevitable as such is consistent with human nature. We should support the idea of a multipolar world.”

Brics, which started with Brazil, Russia, India, and China, has since expanded to include South Africa, Egypt, Iran, and most recently Indonesia – making the proposal more urgent in the senator’s view. He said he envisioned the Philippines as “a friend to all nations” and saw its potential as a “neutral venue for talks, especially those involving the settling of disputes”.

“It is my dream that the Philippines should host talks, not bases,” Pimentel added, referring to the military sites in the country that had hosted American troops under the bilateral Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement.