The article examines the reasons behind the Aquino administration’s instantaneous support for the Obama administration’s pivot to Asia as the Philippines negotiated and signed a framework agreement on enhanced defense cooperation with the United States. This outright backing stems from President Aquino’s determination to counter China’s expansionism in the South China Sea. The 2012 Scarborough Shoal stand-off between the Philippines and China has validated the immediacy of this security arrangement which jibes with the U.S. strategic policy. In conclusion, the article contends that a small power like the Philippines-when confronted by an emergent and potentially expansionist power-is not necessarily helpless since it has foreign policy choices, as well as the power to chart its own destiny.