The role of small countries, whether in terms of moral influence, upholding free and open trade or promoting regional peace and stability, should not be underestimated.

As the WTO-led multilateral trading system has weakened, free trade areas are driving the process of laying down international rules.

Increasing cooperation between the Philippines and Russia suggests that there is a burgeoning relationship in the East that may lessen the Philippines’ dependency on the United States. Such a relationship also has implications for China’s involvement in the disputed South China Sea.

The United States-China trade war will make us all poorer and exacerbate the risks of war.

In the nineteenth century, the world was Europeanized. In the twentieth century, it was Americanized. Now, it is being Asianized – and much faster than you may think.

China and the United States find themselves in a situation that is gradually souring, but the current US strategy towards China is not exclusively a Trumpian one.

ASEAN’s best strategy for keeping China’s revisionist ambitions at bay and preserving maximum room for strategic maneuver is to engage the USA.

Labeling China as a strategic rival, the Trump administration is working to build a four-layer network of allies and partners to encircle China. It will likely lead to an Asian version of NATO.

After the United States officially withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that the country hopes to deploy medium-range missiles in Asia. This remark quickly sparked widespread controversy, and most countries don’t want to see the terrible scene of a missile race in the region.

Relying on its extraordinary strength, the United States can apply extreme pressure to chop an integral free trade agreement into several parts and then negotiate advantages in each.