MANILA – Soon after Lai Ching-te won Taiwan’s January 13 presidential election, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr made an unprecedented congratulatory call to the independence-leaning new leader who’s firmly in Beijing’s crosshairs. According to official reports of the conversation, Marcos Jr congratulated Lai as “Taiwan’s next president” while looking forward to “close collaboration, strengthening mutual interests […]

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Philippine aspirations to hit upper-middle-income country status were derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic, but economic planners remain optimistic that this target can be achieved by 2025.  If a new era of global political and economic rebalancing is taking place, there are clear internal challenges and international economic opportunities for the Philippines to navigate. The Philippine […]

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After an almost seven-year imprisonment, former senator Leila De Lima was released on bail in November 2023. In her speech, she thanked the Marcos administration for respecting the rule of law.  De Lima’s choice of words is not accidental. It was a loaded statement to fan the growing political wedge between the Marcos and the Duterte families […]

The post Deep, dark cracks in the Marcos-Duterte alliance appeared first on Asia Times.

MANILA – “History has proven that they are not serious and have no sincerity when it comes to peace negotiations,” declared Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte in a spirited speech castigating the Marcos Jr administration’s plan to renew long-stalled peace negotiations with communist rebels. “They will use this peace negotiation to betray the government and […]

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MANILA – “I do not think anybody wants to go to war,” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said following his meeting with Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco last week. “We really should view this as a work in progress. It’s a process,” Marcos Jr […]

The post Marcos doubles down on his double game with China appeared first on Asia Times.

MANILA – The annual Kamandag exercises now underway in the Philippines are making a multinational splash with an estimated 2,749 participating troops, including 1,732 from the Philippines, 902 from the US, 57 from South Korea, 50 from Japan and eight from the United Kingdom. Significantly, the show of unified force comes as the Philippines and […]

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MANILA – “Are you sure you (Filipinos) want to get into a fight where you will be the battleground?”, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong cautioned at a recent forum in the city-state when asked about rising tensions in the South China Sea. The leader’s comments came shortly after yet another incident that risked tilting […]

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MANILA – “I am honored to have the opportunity to be the first Japanese Prime Minister to speak here at the Congress of the Philippines, which has a long tradition,” Fumio Kishida said before the Special Joint Session of Philippine legislature during his two-day official visit to Manila last week. During the historic speech, the […]

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MANILA – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is overseeing a historic expansion in military cooperation with the United States, putting the Southeast Asian nation on a collision course with China in the South China Sea. A new report by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) of the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank […]

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MANILA – “My suggestion for the president is to crack the whip with his Cabinet, especially the poorly performing members of the Cabinet who do not help but are instead harming the president,” said Senator Miguel Zubiri, a key ally of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. His advice for a shake-up comes amid an authoritative […]

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In a demonstration of the Philippines’ growing importance as a strategic front line for major powers, the embassies of Japan and China in Manila engaged in a perhaps unprecedented verbal tussle over the latest developments in the South China Sea. Over the weekend, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko sounded alarm bells over reports […]

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MANILA – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr promised to halve the price of rice to as low as 20 pesos per kilogram on the campaign trail last year. Upon winning election, he reiterated his populist vow during a triumphant inauguration speech where the namesake son of a former Philippine strongman waxed eloquent about a future […]

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When Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a new strategic partnership with the Philippines on Friday (September 8) in Manila, the ceremony marked the culmination of a year-long charm offensive to win over Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s Western-friendly administration. Albanese described the new partnership as “historic” and a “watershed moment” that will “contribute to an open, […]

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In his second State of the Nation address, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr proudly trumpeted the dawn of Bagong Pilipinas (New Philippines).  “I have stated before that my confidence in our future was grounded in our world-class quality workforce,” he said. “I know that the state of the nation is sound and is improving. The New Philippines has arrived.”  […]

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MANILA – “Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, the Philippine Navy patrols the country’s territories in the West Philippine Sea to show and enforce our claims in the area,” declared Captain Noli Ibanez, the commanding officer of the BRP Jose Rizal, the nation’s most modern frigate. Just over a decade ago, the Southeast […]

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MANILA – As China-Philippine tensions escalate over disputed features in the South China Sea, the United States and its regional allies are lending Manila a firm helping hand in asserting its claims. “In the role of the United States in those resupplies, they were providing freedom of navigation, they were conducting freedom of navigation operations […]

The post Philippines feeling stronger with muscly US, Australia support appeared first on Asia Times.

MANILA – The Philippines is leveraging a widening network of alliances to assert its stance in the South China Sea, a strategy that threatens to put it on a steeper collision course with China over contested features in the disputed waters. Rising tensions over the Second Thomas Shoal have only reinforced the Philippines’ resolve to […]

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MANILA – The historic meeting among leaders of the United States, Japan and South Korea this week at Camp David has been hailed as a “new milestone” in the burgeoning trilateral alliance. For the first time in contemporary history, leaders from the three nations are set to hold an official joint summit, underscoring the Biden […]

The post Japan, Philippines on verge of VFA defense pact appeared first on Asia Times.

MANILA – “I’m not aware of any such arrangement or agreement that the Philippines will remove from its own territory its ship,” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said when asked about China’s recent request for the removal of the BRP Sierra Madre grounded vessel from the contested Second Thomas Shoal. “And let me go further: […]

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“This is Philippine territory, and it is our business what we do here just as long as it is for Philippine interest,” declared Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro. “It is not any other countries’ business to question what we do here.” Amid rising tensions with China in recent months, the tough comments came in response […]

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