Masters thesis — U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 2016. Full text: https://archive.org/details/DTIC_AD1020341
A decade on, the Philippines is again the front line of the South China Sea standoff — the thesis's partnership-building prescription is being tested in real time.
The Philippines is the linchpin of U.S. freedom-of-navigation strategy in the South China Sea — Manila is instrumental to phase-shaping, deterrence, and Seventh Fleet support in a contingency, because China's nine-dash-line incrementalism can't be answered by patrols alone.
Why it matters
A decade on, the Philippines is again the front line of the South China Sea standoff — the thesis's partnership-building prescription is being tested in real time.
Use when: Against salami-slicing, the counter is local partnership, not just presence — geography with an ally beats patrols alone.
