section_path: Government and politics/Foreign relations
section_name: Foreign relations
paragraph_text: Foreign relations
  
  A founding and active member of the United Nations,: 37–38 the Philippines has been a non-permanent member of the Security Council. The country participates in peacekeeping missions, particularly in East Timor. The Philippines is a founding and active member of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and a member of the East Asia Summit, the Group of 24, and the Non-Aligned Movement. The country has sought to obtain observer status in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation since 2003, and was a member of SEATO. Over 10 million Filipinos live and work in 200 countries, giving the Philippines soft power.: 207
  
  During the 1990s, the Philippines began to seek economic liberalization and free trade: 7–8 to help spur foreign direct investment. It is a member of the World Trade Organization: 8 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. The Philippines entered into the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement in 2010 and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free trade agreement (FTA) in 2023. Through ASEAN, the Philippines has signed FTAs with China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.: 15 The country has bilateral FTAs with Japan, South Korea, and four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.: 9–10, 15
  
  The Philippines has a long relationship with the United States, involving economics, security, and interpersonal relations. The Philippines' location serves an important role in the United States' island chain strategy in the West Pacific; a Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries was signed in 1951, and was supplemented with the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement and the 2016 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. The country supported American policies during the Cold War and participated in the Korean and Vietnam wars. In 2003, the Philippines was designated a major non-NATO ally. Under President Duterte, ties with the United States weakened in favor of improved relations with China and Russia. The Philippines relies heavily on the United States for its external defense;: 11 the U.S. has made regular assurances to defend the Philippines, including the South China Sea.
  
  Since 1975, the Philippines has valued its relations with China —its top trading partner, and cooperates significantly with the country. Japan is the biggest bilateral contributor of official development assistance to the Philippines; although some tension exists because of World War II, much animosity has faded.: 93 Historical and cultural ties continue to affect relations with Spain. Relations with Middle Eastern countries are shaped by the high number of Filipinos working in those countries, and by issues related to the Muslim minority in the Philippines; concerns have been raised about domestic abuse and war affecting the approximately 2.5 million overseas Filipino workers in the region.
  
  The Philippines has claims in the Spratly Islands which overlap with claims by China, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The largest of its controlled islands is Thitu Island, which contains the Philippines' smallest town. The 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff, after China seized the shoal from the Philippines, led to an international arbitration case which the Philippines eventually won; China rejected the result, and made the shoal a prominent symbol of the broader dispute.
  
  China has rejected new Philippine maritime laws aimed at strengthening sovereignty in the South China Sea, stating they infringe on Chinese territorial claims and vowing to defend its interests in contested areas.