International Studies Department

The European Union member-states (EU-28) have created policy frameworks that would address climate change and energy issues with wide and binding targets in 2020, 2030, and 2050, specifically aimed to reduce the carbon footprint, increase the share of renewable energy sources (RES), and reach a more competitive landscape for the European energy sector. Anchored in the perspective of Liberal-Institutionalism, this paper aims to: (1) identify and examine the dynamic approaches of the EU in achieving evidence-based and environmentally-sound energy policies and strategies, (2) present the current tool – the energy trilemma model – in assessing the EU-28's ranking using the Energy Trilemma Index created, and (3) draw conclusions on the EU's success in transitioning to a low-carbon energy development.

Militant organizations, particularly the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has waged a protracted war against the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) for the past several decades. During these years more than one hundred forty thousand militants, soldiers and civilians have been killed and millions of civilians have been displaced due to these seemingly endless militant activities. To understand how and why these militant organizations have survived throughout the past decades, we must understand the factors that impact on the sustainability of the MILF. The MILF is generally considered as a revolutionary organization fighting for the right of the Moro people (Filipino Muslims) to freely determine their political status and pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. While originally armed and supported by the Libyan and Malaysian governments during the 1980s, the MILF had lost much of its state support several years after. To sustain its armed and political struggle, the MILF forged a tentative relationship with Al Qaeda, receiving money through Islamic charities and non-government organizations, as well as limited military training. However, after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US, these charities and organizations were shut down prompting the MILF to build up its self-reliance by independently raising its owns funds and procuring and manufacturing its own weapons. The MILF’s self-reliance is the key to its sustainability. This paper argues that specific organizational and external factors contribute to the sustainability of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in pursuing its objective of establishing an independent Islamic state. More particularly, the article addresses the following questions: What factors contribute to the sustainability of the MILF? What are the implications of these factors on the activities of the MILF?

As cyberspace transforms into what military strategists and futurists call the “next battlespace,” the world may be witnessing not only the rise of a new zone of strategic competition but, more inevitably, ground zero for the next global arms race. While cyber warfare is still in its early stages, countries like China have initiated the production of a new generation of cyber weapons and have continued to develop a professional corps of cyber warriors that promise reshape how war is fought in the twenty-first century. In recent years, Chinese cyber capabilities have become more disturbing, as it has launched an undefined number of cyber reconnaissance and offensive operations with unknown intent against a variety of countries. This paper examines China’s cyber warfare capabilities and its ramifications on member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The article argues that the superior offensive cyber warfare capabilities of China are a significant threat to member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), leaving it defenceless in the event of a major cyber attack.

The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) is confronted by a persistent communist insurgency, the origins of which date back to 1968, when the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) announced its loyalty to the Maoist precept of “people’s war” and mobilized its devoted military wing, the New People’s Army (NPA). The CPP-NPA started with a small group of students and workers convened by Jose Maria Sison, a university lecturer who was profoundly influenced by the theoretical foundations of Marxism-Leninism. The Third World fusion of peasant unrest and nationalism marked by a series of events in the 1960s such as the Vietnam War, the perceived inequities in the relationship between the Philippines and the United States, oppression resulting in social inequalities, the political radicalism that was sweeping university campuses around the world, and the Cultural Revolution in the People’s Republic of China, further influenced the creation of the militant organization.

The CPP-NPA’s principal objective is “to replace the current economic and political order in the Philippines with a socialist system” and its main function is “to wage a protracted people’s war to destroy the reactionary state power and the interventionist “U.S. imperial forces, protect the people and advance their national and democratic interests.” To achieve its objectives, the CPP-NPA utilizes all tactical means at its disposal: military struggle, mass mobilization, political lobbying, political subversion and International Solidarity Work (ISW) with other left-wing organizations.

Estimates provided by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) indicate that the CPP-NPA continues to mobilize around 5,000 cadres, a drastic decrease from its peak of 28,000 cadres in the mid-1980s. Although diminishing in numbers, the AFP still considers the CPP-NPA as the primary security threat due to its capacity to operate nationally and its ability to infiltrate various state and private institutions.

With this background, this paper argues that CPP-NPA has been able to sustain its activities for the past four decades due to the structural conditions in the Philippine society, particularly the prevalence of extreme poverty and lack of governance in the countryside. Moreover, the CPP-NPA’s steady recruitment pools, persistent ideology, resilient operational security, and reliable sources of money have enabled the organization to develop and expand its influence and operations to at least 1,000 barangays nationwide.