China

Philippines

Military & Security

Politics

The Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, the country's communist rebel group, agreed to renew peace talks in 2024 after a six-year pause in negotiations, The Manila Times reported on Nov. 28.

Philippines: Government, Communist Insurgents to Resume Peace Talks in 2024

United States

Australia

Japan

Taiwan

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that his country and the United States began joint maritime and air patrols on Nov. 21, Channel News Asia reported the same day.

Philippines, U.S.: Washington and Manila Start Joint Naval and Air Patrols in the South China Sea 

Economics

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

The Philippines and the United States have concluded a pact on nuclear power cooperation under the Section 123 agreement framework, Reuters reported Nov. 17. 

Philippines, U.S.: Manila and Washington Sign Landmark Nuclear Energy Pact 

Two collisions involving Chinese and Philippine maritime forces in the South China Sea occurred within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone off the coast of Palawan as the Philippine navy attempted to resupply the grounded vessel at the Second Thomas Shoal, Reuters reported on Oct. 22.

China, Philippines: Dual Collisions in the South China Sea Demonstrate Rising Aggression

Djibouti

Indonesia

Mongolia

Papua New Guinea

Vietnam

Japan is considering offering Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Mongolia and Djibouti security-focused aid under Tokyo's Official Security Assistance (OSA) program, Asahi Shimbun reported on Aug. 28.

Japan: Tokyo Considers Six Countries to Receive Security Aid

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. revealed that the Philippines and Vietnam are negotiating the demarcation of their South China Sea maritime boundary, the Manila Bulletin reported on Aug. 10.

Philippines, Vietnam: Countries Negotiating Maritime Demarcation

U.S.-China Relations

The Philippines is lodging a formal diplomatic complaint against China over Chinese vessels' Aug. 5 deployment of water cannons against a Philippine resupply mission to the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, The Manila Times reported on Aug. 7.

China, Philippines: Beijing Maintains Maritime 'Grey Zone' Tactics While U.S. Stands By

Fiji

Thailand

Cyber

Earth Longzhi, a subgroup of Chinese state-sponsored hacking group APT41, has reemerged after months of dormancy, according to a May 2 report by Japanese multinational cybersecurity firm Trend Micro.

China: New Report Highlights Return of Hacking Group Earth Longzhi

Snapshots

A photo taken during a Philippine surveillance flight on Sept. 28, 2023, shows a Chinese coast guard ship on patrol near the Scarborough Shoal (seen in the background) in the South China Sea.

The vessel crashes highlight the risk of future crises in the disputed maritime region as China tries to test the U.S.'s commitment to defending the Philippines and the wider Indo-Pacific.

Chinese-Philippine Collisions Bring Attention Back to the South China Sea

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

Laos

Malaysia

Myanmar

Singapore

Regional leaders pose for a group photo before the ASEAN-Australia summit, held as part of the 43rd ASEAN summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sept. 7, 2023. From left to right stand the Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand's Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sarun Charoensuwan, Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indonesia's President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Brunei's Prime Minister Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

ASEAN's most recent summit underscored chronic passivity within the bloc that will only worsen in 2024. 

Amid ASEAN's Inaction, the Block's Members Look to External Partners for Security

Media

Podcasts

What's driving the reinvigorated U.S.-Philippines alliance?

Essential Geopolitics: The Impact of Deepened U.S.-Philippines Relations on U.S.-China Tensions

Assessments

A Chinese coast guard ship (R) shadows the Philippine coast guard vessel BRP Malapascua (L) while on patrol at the Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands in the disputed South China Sea on April 23, 2023.

Washington woos the Philippines with strategic clarity, despite the dangers of a military conflict with China.

Clarified U.S. Defense Commitments Rock the Boat in the South China Sea

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (right) meets with his Philippine counterpart, Carlito Galvez (left), at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on April 12, 2023. 

The reinvigorated defense alliance will improve the U.S.'s ability to counter Chinese military moves in nearby waters. But it will also place Manila directly in Beijing's crosshairs.

The Revamped U.S.-Philippine Alliance Starts to Come to Fruition

Graphics

Chinese maritime militia vessels float near the Philippine-controlled island of Thitu, which Filipinos call Pag-asa, in the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on March 9, 2023.

Recent incidents in the South China Sea illustrate the competing interests of claimant states amid increasing militarization.

A Look at Recent Incidents in the South China Sea

A Chinese coast guard ship sails past anchored Philippine fishing boats in the Scarborough Shoal, in the disputed South China Sea, on Feb. 3, 2023.

A binding code of conduct in the South China Sea remains unlikely, despite the resumption of negotiations between claimant states.

With No Deal in Sight, South China Sea Claimants Continue to Militarize

Philippine marines take part in a joint military exercise with their U.S. counterparts at a training camp northwest of Manila in May 2018.

Though intended to deter Beijing's unrelenting incursions, Manila's push to bolster its security ties with Washington also threatens to have the opposite effect.

The Philippines Secures Its Spot in the Middle of U.S.-China Tensions

Southeast Asian governments will need sustained vigilance to prevent a resurgence in localized violence.

Essential Geopolitics: The State of Violent Extremism in Southeast Asia

People visit the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, in June 2020, as it reopened for visitors amid the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. 

China's strict COVID-19 restrictions are unlikely to ease anytime soon, depriving the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand of billions of dollars of revenue once generated by Chinese tourists.

A Prolonged Absence of Chinese Visitors Will Plague Southeast Asia's Economic Recovery

New Zealand

South Korea

India

A photo taken on May 23, 2022, in Tokyo shows U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attending a video call with leaders from countries in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. 

Supply Chains

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

Asia-Pacific: Among Great Powers

The narrow scope of the initiative will limit its effectiveness in achieving Washington’s goal of countering China’s regional rise.

The Stumbling Blocks of Biden's New Indo-Pacific Economic Bloc

Supporters of Philippine presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son of the country's late dictator, attend a campaign rally in a Manila suburb on April 24, 2022.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son of the country's late dictator, is the frontrunner. But a surprise win by his main rival could see a big shift away from Duterte-era policies.

Previewing the Philippines' Presidential Election

The Philippines is a collection of over 7,000 islands situated at the confluence of the South China Sea, the Indonesian archipelago, the Philippine Sea and Pacific Ocean. It forms the outer edge of maritime Southeast Asia, and for much of its modern history has served as a gateway between western powers and continental Asia.     A former colony of both Spain and the United States, the Philippines today consists of three island clusters: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Luzon, with the country’s capital in Manila, is the political, cultural and economic core of modern Philippines. It is highly urbanized relative to the rest of the country, boasts a large port and deep harbor, and accounts for roughly one-third of the Philippines GDP. Mindanao has long been a hotbed for political unrest and insurgent movements and is populated by the predominantly Muslim Moro tribes. It is also an important fruit and produce exporter.    The Philippines is shaped by sharp geographic, economic and social divisions between a primarily urban north — in Luzon — and a heavily agricultural, poorer south. This, along with the fractured island geography, makes effective national integration difficult. It also undermines Manila's efforts to play a stronger role throughout the South China Sea region or guard against external infringement on its territorial waters, especially from China. That weakness is apparent today, as China's increasingly aggressive moves to assert its own maritime claims test Manila's voice in groups like ASEAN as well as its alliance with the U.S.    While the Philippines’ location at the entrance to maritime Southeast Asia makes it geopolitically significant, internal imbalances continue to hamper its ability to actively defend its own claims, let alone project power.

SITUATION REPORTS

Philippines: Government, Communist Insurgents to Resume Peace Talks in 2024

Philippines, U.S.: Washington and Manila Start Joint Naval and Air Patrols in the South China Sea

Philippines, U.S.: Manila and Washington Sign Landmark Nuclear Energy Pact

China, Philippines: Dual Collisions in the South China Sea Demonstrate Rising Aggression

Japan: Tokyo Considers Six Countries to Receive Security Aid

Philippines, Vietnam: Countries Negotiating Maritime Demarcation

China, Philippines: Beijing Maintains Maritime 'Grey Zone' Tactics While U.S. Stands By

China: New Report Highlights Return of Hacking Group Earth Longzhi

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