(ACPSSII “Philippines in Global Context” series, September 12, 2025 Situationer)

The SCO/BRICS: Governance for a New, Just, Multipolar World Order

In the first week of September 2025 Human history crossed a momentous threshold that changes its destiny for the next hundred years: India joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Tianjin Summit with China, Russia, India, Indonesia and a dozen other Global South countries, representing nearly half of the world’s population and 30% of the global economy, in affirming the unity of the Global Majority and a Global Governance Initiative for a people-centered, multipolar world based on International Rule of Law.

            Just days following the SCO Tianjin Summit the BRICS Plus economic partnership presently under the chairmanship of Brazil, called an emergency virtual summit of leaders to address escalating trade tensions with the U.S. which was attended by the leaders of all the major countries from all the continents of the world. BRICS countries now supply around 40% of the world’s oil, gas and renewable energy. SCO and BRICS now have respective banks and are building alternative non-US Dollar trade and currency exchange systems.

            Ending the Unipolar World Order of Proxy Wars and Regime Change chaos is the unstated part of the goals of the SCO and BRICS, avoiding recurrent geopolitical crises created by unilateral actions of the collective West and its overarching superpower – the United States of America. The success of the SCO and BRICS under the shepherding of major multipolar powers China, Russia, India, Iran, Indonesia and other members and partners can be seen in the most recent pronouncement of the U.S. backing away from confrontation.

            The Philippine Crisis in September 2025 and the US Unipolar World.

            The Philippines in September 2025 reveals a country in shambles: politically fragmenting, GDP per capita falling behind the original Asean 5 Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia; facing security threat travel advisories from South Korea, U.S., Australia, China, Japan, resulting in the worst performing tourism sector in ASEAN; facing resurgent insurgencies; growing threat of security tensions borne of U.S. imposed strategy of tension; and an exploding social volcano brought about by runaway corruption of political leaders.

Through 2016 to January of 2023 seven months into the new administration the country was unified, carrying the banner of a sovereign and independent nation led by the Marcos-Duterte Uni-team. The economic recovery from COVID 19 continued, and the diplomatic legacy of the Duterte administration carried on in Marcos’ first state visit to the People’s Republic of China and signing with President Xi Jinping the MOU for $ 23-billion of aid and investments. Everything was going smooth and well for the nation.

            However, in February 2023 the U.S. Unipolar power imposed its will on the Philippines with the complicity and betrayal by the Marcos government and its proxies – a grim turn for the worse for the Philippines ensued. To understand this, we need to flashback to 2015.

            Betrayal and the Philippine Crisis Unfolds.

            In November 2015, voting 15-1-3 the Philippine Senate led by the late Miriam Defensor Santiago declared the EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement) a treaty prohibited under the Constitution. Senator Bongbong Marcos voted with Santiago. However, eight years later in February 2023 the Bongbong Marcos government announced 4 new U.S. bases in the Philippines signaling a basic shift from the country’s Independent Foreign Policy and Neutrality to a “U.S. embrace” or “U.S. Pivot” with dire political-economic consequences.

            The Marcos government submitted to the U.S. “rules- based order” and its strategic goal of “containing China” as well as “containment of Asia” and disruption of the “Asian Century.” The Marcos priorities became: suppression of the Independent Foreign Policy of the Philippine Constitution and necessarily the political leadership that espouses it (hence the vilification and persecution of the Dutertes), slander of China using the SCS dispute through provocations and propaganda, and isolation from ASEAN and Global Majority multilateral engagement.

            The “Get Sara,” “Get Duterte,” “Get China” campaign-corruption connection.

            With the unified U.S.-Filipino-proxies strategy to pursue U.S. proxy war against China and Asia was set, all proxy assets and financial resources in and of government, were placed at its disposal: U.S. proxy senators raised the anti-China scare (Hontiveros on POGOs, Lacson non-existent Chinese spy sleeper cells), House committees were sicced on Sara Duterte and independent bloggers, Sara impeachment funded by massive budget insertions bribes, Rodrigo Duterte kidnapped to the Hague, independent “think tanks” called to the “Tricomm”.

On the security aspect of the “Get China” campaign the Philippine National Security establishment’s key U.S. proxies were mobilized to execute the U.S. Office of Naval Research, Cordina Knot Center for National Security Innovation, crafted “Project Myusho” and its “assertive transparency” to “exact reputational cost on China” through Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Navy provocations inviting Chinese Coast Guard response to megaphone across Western and Philippine media. Note Philippine maritime assets used for U.S. aims.

Pros and Cons in SCO/BRICS vs U.S. ties

Henry Kissinger’s infinitely famous quip that “It is dangerous to be an enemy of America. It is fatal to be a friend of America,” can be seen and felt most vividly today in Philippine economic ties with the U.S. where the former has been denied for years its requested Free Trade Agreement and now the U.S. raises it tariff on Philippine imports from an average of 6% to 19% starting 2025 and 100% for its integrated circuits export while taxing Filipino-American remittances to the home country – clearly devastating conditions for Philippine exports.

SCO and BRICS countries gain a boon from increase trade and investments with China, benefitting from cheaper EV vehicle imports and joint ventures in processing and manufacturing raw materials to finished goods like EV batteries. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) between China and ASEAN grants the latter tariff reductions, common rules of origin, and enhanced market access for goods and services. African exports to China are tariff free, while imports from Latin Africa enjoy preferential or no tariff.

Philippines left behind in the Global Governance Initiative

The Marcos and U.S. Filipino-proxies in the  three years of “Get China, Get Duterte, Get Sara” campaigns imposed by the U.S. have led to a severely divided and chaotic nation, unprecedented enormity of government corruption, major debacles in tourism and export revenues (particularly with China), while levels of crime are reaching alarming levels that foreign countries have issued travel advisories against travel to the country, and the national debt bloats to P 17-trillion while revenues shrink and new taxes and asset privatizations increase.

While the Philippines struggles with the crisis created by the Unipolar strategies of the U.S. the Global South nations emerging from centuries of Western colonization and Unipolar hegemony are turning to the rising impetus for a new, just and progressively prosperous new world order created by the Global Governance Initiative launched by China’s President XI Jinping since 2015 and now subscribed to by the SCO and BRICS countries eliciting the support of the Global Majority that seen in it’s a world of “Forever Peace” based on:

•  Mutual respect among all nations based on Sovereign Equality
• International Rule of Law based on the UN Charter
• Multilateralism
• People-centered approach
• Delivering Real Results

The Global Governance Initiative is joined by three other initiatives to be complete, the Global Development Initiative for global economic growth, the Global Security Initiative to ensure the peace of the world, and the Global Civilizational Initiative to engage the major civilizations in constructive dialogue and continuing evolution of Human Civilization. With this framework to guide Mankind going forward, the Community of Shared Future for Humanity will be assured and Armageddon buried in the dustbin of history.

For the Philippinse to Rise Again.

Recent dramatic developments on the world stage opens the geopolitical and geo-economic gates wide to new prospects for the Philippines. The indisputable success of the September 1-2, 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Tianjin Summit where India finally cast its lot with China, Russia and 22 other member, observer and dialogue partner countries against the tariff war of the Unipolar power U.S. This was followed by the BRICS emergency summit called by 2025 chair Brazil to discussing U.S. “bullying.”

In the face of overwhelming support from the clear Global Majority for SCO and BRICS, and then punctuated by China’s awe-inspiring 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War parade showcasing what the U.S. Foreign Policy magazine headlined as “China’s Military Now Leading,” the U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced a “Shift Away From China to Focus on

Domestic, Hemisphere Threats” – a clear stand down from the “China and Asia containment.”

The Philippines should take the U.S. shift away from cross-oceanic strategy of  conflict to homeland defense as an opportunity to back away from the ill-conceived “Pivot to the U.S.” and restore the Independent Foreign  Policy and return to ASEAN’ Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality ( ZOPFAN), and re-engage with the Global Majority’s multilateral projects such as SCO and BRICS and support the Global Governance Initiative from China to rebuild the world order based on sovereign equality, people centered development and the multipolar world.

The Philippines today is alienated from the great hope surging through the Global South stemming from the multilateral partnerships the SCO and BRICS, and the new world the Global Governance Initiative is building. For the Philippines to recover from its crisis It must immediately restore its independence and sovereignty to refocus on building national unity and purpose, cleanse society of corruption, rejoin the community of free nations, and unite with the Global Majority building a brave, new, just and progressive country and the world. ###

   

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