The leaders of Vietnam and the Philippines upheld the importance of keeping the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea amid tensions in the strategic waterway where Beijing lays expansive claim. “As fellow claimant states, we reaffirm that maintaining peace, stability and the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea remains non-negotiable,” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said. He spoke at a joint briefing with visiting Vietnamese leader To Lam after their...
The upgrading of a comprehensive strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan underscores how the allies are future-proofing their ties amid growing uncertainty in the Indo-Pacific, analysts say. “This milestone reflects the strength, depth and breadth of our ties as we respond to the evolving challenges and opportunities of our time,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said on Thursday at a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo. The talks also...
When Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr accepted the Asean gavel from Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur last October, the script was already written: a packed agenda, South China Sea diplomacy in the spotlight and a regional digital economy deal to clinch. Then the world changed. On February 28, US and Israeli forces struck Iran. The Strait of Hormuz, an artery of global shipping through which 98 per cent of the Philippines’ crude oil imports travel, became a war zone....
A rare visit by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr to Japan this week marks Manila’s latest bid to establish a counterweight to Beijing over the South China Sea dispute. During the four-day trip, the first state visit by a Philippine leader to Japan in over a decade, Marcos is expected to discuss boosting defence and other ties between Manila and Tokyo amid the security challenge posed by China’s growing maritime assertiveness, according to analysts. Marcos will meet Japanese Prime...
A proposal unveiled by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr for a new Southeast Asian maritime centre has raised questions about its most glaring obstacle: Manila’s long-standing South China Sea dispute with Beijing. Analysts warn such a centre would not only have to avoid appearance of being an instrument of Philippine interests in disputed waters, but also risks simply duplicating the work of existing regional bodies. Speaking on Friday at a press conference following the Asean summit in...