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This article explores the Philippines’ evolving and changing grand strategies in confronting China’s maritime expansion in the South China Sea. From 2010 to 2016, under the Aquino administration, the Philippines challenged China’s extensive claim over the disputed waters by adopting a hard-balancing approach. In 2016, the succeeding Duterte administration pursued an appeasement policy; in 2018, it shifted to a limited hard balancing policy because of (a) continuing Chinese coercive actions against Armed Forces of the Philippines units in Philippines-occupied land features in the South China Sea and (b) China’s failure to deliver on its promised public investments in the country’s infrastructure building programme. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr initially adhered to his predecessor’s strategy of limited hard-balancing. Seeing no change in China’s stance on the maritime issue, he resorted to a hard-balancing policy. He has vigorously supported the steady modernisation of the Philippine military and strengthened the country’s defence ties with the United States and other like-minded security partners while maintaining cordial diplomatic and economic relations with China. This article argues that the Philippines’ evolving grand strategy has the following elements: (a) Admitting that China’s maritime expansion is the quintessential threat to Philippine national security; (b) pursuing a policy of maintaining the status quo in the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea; (c) acknowledging the urgency to shift the focus of the Philippine military from internal security to territorial defence; and (d) fostering its alliance with the United States and its security partnerships with other American allies and partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the UN promulgation of the concept of human security in the early 1990s, one of the countries most enthusiastic about the new paradigm has been South Africa. That country has endeavored to reflect human security values in virtually all state activities. This article examines how South Africa has applied the concept to its armed forces. It argues that the military "operationalization" is evident in two key respects: first, in the country's support for Africa's emerging security architecture; and second, in an increasing willingness to commit military forces to external peace operations. However, this application has largely occurred at the national strategic level. It was much less clear in 2007 that any human security ethos was forming within the South African armed forces themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]