Philippine president playing with fire

Washington

PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte visited China for four days beginning Oct 18 in a strategic bet that he can patch up contentious relations with Beijing, seek economic aid while loosening long-standing ties with the United States. The results of the trip, during which he announced his "separation from the US" (only to backtrack on it the next day) will be closely monitored for signs of how serious the new president is about orienting the Philippines towards China and away from the US, which would have an outsized impact on regional geopolitical dynamics and US efforts to rein in China's ambitions in the South China Sea.

Relations between Manila and Beijing unravelled in 2012 when China seized fish-rich Scarborough Shoal, roughly 201 km off the Philippine coast in the South China Sea. China's move prompted the Philippines to bring a case against Beijing to an international arbitral tribunal in The Hague, causing China to react angrily. Mr Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino, signed a defence cooperation agreement with the United States in 2014, giving the US military increased access to five bases and providing the Philippines increased aid and training for maritime domain awareness. Stepped up engagement with Manila was a key plank in President Barack Obama's rebalance to Asia.