
Philippines
Reports on Philippines See all →

The Philippines’ policy and the great power competition

The Philippines’ foreign policy drivers go beyond the theatrics of its current president. Some of them are fundamental interests that hardly change in time, as has been the case of the simultaneous economic cooperation and territorial conflict with China. The U.S., too, exerts a strong pull on Manila. There are, however, even deeper sources of the Philippines’ international behavior.

Global Outlook 2017: Southeast Asia and the U.S.-China dynamic
Southeast Asian nations will continue their long-term strategy of making the most out of their relationships with the United States and China in 2017. Though some leaders, especially in the Philippines and Malaysia, have made high-profile overtures to Beijing, and Vietnam has much to lose from TPP’s demise, none of ...


Will Duterte end the Philippines-U.S. alliance?
President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has made a splash for many reasons, one of the most important being his suggestions that Manila will work toward a new strategic alignment. While shunning the United States, he has called for new alliances with Russia and China. How likely is this shift ...


Clarity and instability in the South China Sea
A Hague-based arbitration panel has declared that China’s famous “nine-dash line” provides no legal basis for its claims to the vast maritime territory it encloses. The decision suddenly brings legal clarity to the dispute between Beijing and several countries in the region over control of islands and shipping lanes in ...


Tricky balancing act awaits winner of Philippines presidential election
As it gears up for the sixth presidential election since its 1986 revolution, the Philippines faces a host of challenges on the economy, foreign policy and domestic political reform. The biggest issue is tensions with China, but the incoming president will also have to tackle corruption to unleash this young, ...
