Diplomatic balancing act gets harder for Philippines

Significance

This reflects the basic principles of foreign policy under President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, who visited Beijing on January 3-5, Tokyo on February 8-12 and Washington on April 30-May 4.

Impacts

• The mooted Philippine-Japanese-US alliance would strengthen new pathways emerging in the US alliance system.
• Spurred by domestic pressure, the Philippines will seek greater legal jurisdiction over US troops rotating through its bases.
• Washington will avoid confronting the Marcos administration over its inaction on human rights concerns.