PHILIPPINE membership in Brics would not necessarily undermine the country’s treaty alliance with the United States and could instead help Manila diversify its international partnerships, according to a foreign policy scholar.
Prof. Enrico Gloria, assistant professor of international relations at the University of the Philippines Diliman’s Department of Political Science and a scholar of Chinese foreign policy and Philippine-China relations, said the Philippines could pursue closer engagement with Brics without abandoning its existing alliances.
“There’s definitely an opportunity for the Philippines to diversify its partnership,” Gloria said during a forum organized by the Manila-based think tank Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute (ACPSSI).
Brics, originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India, and China and later joined by South Africa, has expanded to 11 full members. It serves as a forum for political, economic and diplomatic cooperation among major emerging and developing economies, with a stated goal of giving the Global South a greater voice in global governance.
While Brics is not a military alliance directed against the United States, its push for a more multipolar international order has contributed to geopolitical friction with Washington, particularly because China and Russia are among its members.
Gloria said concerns that joining or engaging with Brics would amount to downplaying the Philippine-US alliance should be considered carefully, noting that membership in the grouping does not require a country to renounce an existing alliance.
He cited Thailand as an example of a US treaty ally that has engaged with Brics. Thailand is among the countries that have accepted Brics partner-country status.
“I don’t see it as threatening the alliance one way or another,” Gloria said.
“In fact, it can actually bolster the overall Filipino position by diversifying existing partnerships,” he added.
The Philippines has repeatedly pursued broader international partnerships under the Marcos administration while maintaining its longstanding defense alliance with Washington.
Gloria said this approach could allow Manila to engage major and emerging powers based on the benefits they could provide rather than limiting its partnerships to traditional powers.
The scholar, however, cautioned against interpreting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s participation in the 18th Brics Summit in New Delhi earlier this month as a formal move toward Philippine membership.
Marcos attended the Sept. 12-13 summit as chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), while the Philippines was invited as an “Outreach Country,” a nonmember allowed to participate in summit discussions and dialogues.
“I wouldn’t directly appreciate it as a first step to the Philippines membership,” Gloria said.
He said the attendance was nevertheless significant because it showed that Manila was considering what closer engagement with Brics could offer the Philippines.
“It is certainly an indication that the Philippines is contemplating what a Brics membership might offer for the Philippines,” he said.
The president said before the summit that his participation was primarily aimed at representing Asean and advancing engagement with Brics on issues affecting developing and emerging economies.
He said the Philippines would promote fairer global governance, disaster preparedness, responsible use of technology, climate action and the peaceful settlement of disputes under international law.
Gloria also acknowledged concerns over China’s influence in Brics, given Beijing’s central role in the grouping and its competing interests with the Philippines in the South China Sea.
He said apprehension was understandable among countries that have direct competing interests with China, particularly as Beijing seeks a greater role in shaping international rules and institutions.
But rather than avoiding engagement, Gloria said the Philippines could use its participation to help shape discussions within the grouping.
“It is a natural reaction that you have this direct competitor suddenly trying to shape the rules of the game,” he said.
At the same time, he said engagement could allow the Philippines to contribute to discussions on global governance, particularly if Brics promotes the principles of sovereign equality and broader participation.
Gloria also distinguished Brics from China-led initiatives, noting that the geopolitical bloc brings together other major powers, including India, Russia and Brazil.
Therefore, he said, the Philippines’ participation in the New Delhi summit should be viewed as part of Manila’s broader exploration of international partnerships rather than an immediate decision to align itself with China or Russia.
Marcos described the Philippines’ Brics engagement as consistent with Asean’s “open, inclusive, and outward-looking” approach and said the country’s participation was guided by Asean centrality and constructive bridge-building.
