The Philippines sits at the center of an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific, caught between its traditional ally in Washington and rising interference from Beijing. The country’s strategic location, including control of the Luzon Strait, which sees over one trillion dollars in passing goods annually, makes it an important player in the jockeying for economic position in the South China Sea. The disputed Scarborough Shoal is also the last link in the Chinese artificial island triangle, which could allow China to project radar control over the South China Sea.
As strategic competition intensifies between the United States and China, Manila’s foreign policy choices are shaping not only regional security but also the future of global trade and maritime governance.
What greater strategic role does the Philippines play in Asia and the South China Sea? How has the country changed its strategic outlook during the transition from Rodrigo Duterte to Bongbong Marcos? And how will Philippine foreign policy influence the future of regional stability, commerce, and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific?
Join us for a discussion with Gregory B. Poling, Director and Senior Fellow at the Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and author of On Dangerous Ground: America’s Century in the South China Sea.
Music by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay.
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