A Philippine subsidiary to a shipbuilding giant recently declared bankruptcy. Seeing what happened to Sri Lanka’s prized Hambantota port, some Filipino strategists fear that the Subic Bay Freeport Zone might suffer the same fate.

Duterte’s Asian tilt is not so much a reaction against the West as it is a recognition of economic and security dynamics.

After five months of intense firefights between government troops and Islamic State (IS)-affiliated militants, the Battle of Marawi is now effectively over. Yet, the specter of terror in Mindanao is far from over. The Philippines may have managed to contain, at least for the meantime, the prospect of an IS stronghold in its backyard, but religiously inspired extremism and violence will continue to haunt Mindanao for the foreseeable future.

One of the biggest geopolitical shocks of Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency is the dramatic realignment in strategic relations among Southeast Asian claimant states, particularly between the Philippines and Vietnam. What looked like a promising alliance-in-the-making has suddenly turned into low-intensity bilateral tensions, with the two protagonists openly clashing over how to best deal with the China threat in the South China Sea.

China says it hopes to work with the Philippines' new government to resolve territorial disputes in the South China Sea.