The US has capitalised on its trade war with China, the threat of terrorism and the regional military threats allegedly posed by Beijing to keep longtime allies such as the Philippines from turning against Washington. China is now the second-biggest defence spender in the world, losing out only to the US (who – by the…
As President Trump flew home from his Hanoi summit with Kim Jong Un, Mike Pompeo peeled off and flew to Manila. And there the Secretary of State made a startling declaration. Any armed attack by China on a Philippine ship or plane in the South China Sea, he told the Philippine government, will be treated…
The head of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, explicitly stated that the Chinese army was preparing for war. The newly appointed Minister of Defense of the country, Wei Fenhe, no less frankly stated that “challenges to China’s sovereignty over Taiwan are extremely dangerous and will lead to military action.” China completed the deployment…
As the United States squeezes China economically through an escalating trade war, it is simultaneously ramping up military efforts to challenge Beijing’s recent strategic gains in the contested South China Sea. The tit-for-tat punitive exchanges on economic and strategic fronts has effectively commenced what some analysts now see as a new Cold War pitting America…
The Philippines is willing to go forward with a prospective Russian submarine deal despite heavy American pressure. President Duterte rebuffed the earlier criticism of his plans that US Assistant Defense Secretary for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs Randall Schriver warned “wouldn’t be a helpful thing to do in our alliance” by rhetorically asking “who are you to…
It seems everyday I wake up and see another instance of defections coming from US allies over the behavior of some corner of the Trump Administration. Over the weekend Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte hit back strongly at US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs Randall Schriver who told Duterte to “think very…
