Lucio Blanco Pitlo III, Research Fellow, Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress
Jan 19, 2023
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s visit to Beijing may help set the tone for cordial bilateral ties with China, but could also stir wariness on the part of the country’s longstanding treaty ally, the United States. The Philippines must carefully navigate its position to avoid being seen as favoring either side.
Philip Cunningham, Independent Scholar
Dec 02, 2022
From student activist, to journalist, to a top diplomat, Jaime Florcruz is the man for the job. Given his unique and impressive history working and studying in China, and his expertise on America, it’s hard to imagine a better appointment for balancing the interests of both Manila and Beijing while not alienating Washington.
Richard Javad Heydarian, Professorial Chairholder in Geopolitics, Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Oct 14, 2022
The Phillipines geographic location has long made it a close trading partner to China, but a colonial history with the U.S. has left strong bonds with its century-old ally to this day. Now, as China and the U.S. talk themselves into more hostile territory, how the Philippines will navigate two of its most consequential relationships will be crucial to surviving any sort of escalation.
Richard Javad Heydarian, Professorial Chairholder in Geopolitics, Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Sep 30, 2022
As a former U.S. colonial subject, the Philippines has retained close cultural and official ties to Washington. The new Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has shown that he intends to deviate from his predecessor’s distancing from the United States by rebuilding relations with the West while simultaneously drawing closer to Asian nations - including China.
Richard Javad Heydarian, Professorial Chairholder in Geopolitics, Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Jul 13, 2022
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. shares a party and similar voting base as his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, but the new Philippine president brings forth a more Western-biased foreign policy that will surely cause tensions to rise in the South China Sea region.
Dan Steinbock, Founder, Difference Group
Apr 28, 2022
The Philippine 2022 presidential election is just days away. The highly popular president Duterte is likely to be succeeded by the “Bong Bong” Marcos and Sara Duterte, who will build on his legacies. The opposition’s proxy campaign has failed.
Lucio Blanco Pitlo III, Research Fellow, Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress
Apr 22, 2022
Rodrigo Duterte led the Philippines in the last six years with his own brand of populist, oft-criticized leadership. While his successor may not inherit his bombastic attitude, they will have to take over relations with an ever-powerful China and a long festering maritime row.
Richard Javad Heydarian, Professorial Chairholder in Geopolitics, Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Dec 24, 2021
The Philippines is gearing up for a hotly contested presidential election, and the relationship with China across trade and security must be addressed by each candidate.
Dan Steinbock, Founder, Difference Group
Nov 29, 2021
Overshadowed by U.S.-Sino friction, the 2022 election will be about the future of the Philippines. Old economic elites hope to undermine leading candidates and create a series of U.S.-Philippine military faits accompli before the vote.
Richard Javad Heydarian, Professorial Chairholder in Geopolitics, Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Nov 24, 2021
“The U.S. once held the Philippines as a colonial possession, but now finds itself having to win back the Southeast Asian nation’s good graces to counter a rising China.”