The Philippines: Why it is Choosing US Destruction Over Chinese Construction
While the ongoing conflict in Ukraine continues to dominate headlines, occasionally news stories surface regarding growing tensions in the Asia-Pacific region as well. Driven primarily by the US, these headlines also include the proxies Washington is using to stir up an Ukraine-style conflict in the region.
Balikatan Exercise in the South China Sea
The annual US-Philippine military exercise Balikatan began on 22 April and will continue until 10 May. Originally planned as a relatively small and bilateral exercise, in recent years it has become the largest of those conducted by the United States in the Indo-Pacific region with the participation of one or more of its allies…
US Shapes Philippines into Southeast Asia’s “Ukraine”
With the rise of China, so too rises Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia has slowly transformed in terms of economics, infrastructure, tourism, industry, and politically over the last two decades as Chinese influence increases and inevitably displaces US influence over the region. At its height, US influence resulted in a major war spanning two decades, engulfing Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. The US maintained military bases across the region, including in Thailand and the Philippines. However, when the US finally lost its war against Vietnam, it withdrew much of its military…
Philippine President's Trip to the United States
On April 30, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the president of the Philippines, departed for a five-day trip to the United States of America. In a way, the trip served as the culmination of a number of in-depth assessments designed to probe the stance of all three significant players in the region who form the field of power in which the Philippines must somehow function. Early in January, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. traveled to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. A month later, he was welcomed in Tokyo by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. However, it should be emphasized that, in the context of the aforementioned probing process…
Lloyd Austin visits the Philippines again
The US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's visit to the Philippines in early February further demonstrates the growing importance of the country in Washington's escalating struggle with Beijing for influence in the Southeast Asian subregion. This isn't the first time The New Eastern Outlook is examining the reasons for the special attention of both actors to Southeast Asia...
The Philippines after General Elections
On May 9, the Philippines held presidential and vice presidential elections, which were a significant event in the development of the situation in the Indo-Pacific region. The course and results of these elections attracted close attention of such leading regional (and world) players as the United States and China. As one of the main participants...
West Decries Philippine’s New Government - US-backed Protests Begin
Recent general elections in The Philippines appear to signal the island nation’s continued but gradual move out from under US subordination and its rise with the rest of Asia as China emerges as both a regional and global superpower. With Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. set to become the next president...
The 2+2 Meeting between Japan and the Philippines
The Japan-Philippines meeting of Foreign and Defence Ministers in the so-called “2+2 format” that took place in Tokyo on April 9 is not an ordinary event in the series of others that shape the current situation in the Indo-Pacific region. First of all, it is worth noting once again the significance of the very presence of such a format in the relations between certain pairs...
The Latest Balikatan Exercise and the Situation in the Philippines
The current Balikatan military exercises between the US and the Philippines (“balikatan” is a Tagalog word meaning “shoulder-to-shoulder”), which began on March 28 and will last until the end of April, are an event of wide-ranging significance, and thus deserve this author’s attention. First and foremost, because...
China to Build First Phase of New Philippine Railway
Chinese companies have secured a major contract to begin building the first phase of a new inter-city railway across the Philippine island of Luzon. The railway will connect the capital city, Manila, to cities and ports across the island. China’s Xinhua in an article titled, “Chinese contractors to build Philippines' fastest, longest railway: ambassador,” would report: The Philippine...
On Philippine Foreign Ministry's Statement on the Situation in the South China Sea
On July 12 of this year, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Teodoro Locsin issued a statement that immediately garnered the attention of leading news outlets because it concerned the situation in the South China Sea (SCS, i.e. one of the most volatile parts of the world where (conflicting interests of countries...
Philippines: Crawling Out From Under America's Shadow?
President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has announced his intentions to end the nation's security agreement with the United States, specifically its Visiting Forces Agreement. The move puts into question America's military presence in the Philippines and the influence it projects across Asia with it. In particular, it further complicates US attempts...