As tensions have flared between China and the US, the Philippines has become part of their strategic confrontation amid Beijing’s growing aggression in the resource-rich South China Sea.
Under its vocally anti-American President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines has emerged as a focal point between China and the US in their continuing contest for dominance in the region.
As tensions have flared between China and the US, the Philippines has become part of their strategic confrontation amid Beijing’s growing aggression in the resource-rich South China Sea – also one of the world’s busiest shipping routes – where China’s claims to most of the waters are disputed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
The Philippines backed the US stance, calling on China to accept the ruling. In his State of the Union address on Monday, Duterte argued the Philippines was “neither beholden nor a pawn to anyone” in the South China Sea, but also made clear the country was not prepared to go to war over its competing claims with Beijing.
China has wooed the Philippines with investments under its Belt and Road Initiative – Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature development strategy – and was its top trading partner last year. In February Duterte made his biggest move in distancing the Philippines from its historical ally when he announced the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement.
Asian states face stark choice in threat of China-US military clashDerek Grossman, senior defence analyst at the Washington-based think tank Rand Corporation, said Beijing was likely to be increasingly concerned that the Philippines could turn anew to the US to hedge against Chinese assertiveness – particularly as Manila had officially endorsed the US shift in its South China Sea policy.
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