Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte surprised some observers when he announced during a state visit to China in October 2016 that he has “separated” from the US to be “dependent” on China “for a long time.” Considering the rather bellicose tone of the previous administration toward China, why is Philippines suddenly making a foreign policy shift or “pivot” to China?

Philippines-China relations have gone through dramatic changes in recent months. Following the Duterte Administration’s pronouncements signaling a change in the approach towards China, an impact on the bilateral relations was immediately felt –13 bilateral cooperation agreements were signed and USD 24 billion worth of Chinese funding and investment was pledged. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu ...

In October 2016, Burundi, South Africa, and Gambia withdrew from the International Criminal Court (ICC), a decision believed to be rooted in the Court’s alleged bias against Africans. The ICC, thus far, has indicted 36 people – all of whom are Africans. Moreover, nine out of the ten investigations it is currently working on involve Africans. This has caused lingering doubt on the integrity of the ...

On 28 June 2016, Kazakhstan won a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) after outvoting ASEAN-backed Thailand to represent the Asia-Pacific in the UN body. Kazakhstan will serve for a two-year term starting this year, alongside non-permanent members Japan, Egypt, Ukraine, Uruguay, Senegal, Sweden, Bolivia, and Ethiopia – the latter three being newly elected non-permanent ...

As early as the 1990s, the increasing risk and vulnerability of cyberspace was highlighted when a group of hackers known as L0pht issued a warning that computers’ software and hardware and the connection that link computers together were not safe to use and were vulnerable to hacks. The group also stated that these problems would persist if governments and tech corporations do nothing to minimize ...

In the joint communiqué of the 50th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on 5 August 2017 in Manila, Philippines, the Foreign Ministers announced the acceptance of Turkey as a new Sectoral Dialogue Partner of ASEAN. This comes after several years of Turkey’s bid to formalize relations with ASEAN. For ASEAN, this marks another milestone in the regional bloc’s growing external relations. ASEAN’s journey in the ...

The economic relations of the Philippines with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) could have brighter days. While distance has always been a major impediment, stagnation and a myriad of social uncertainties faced by LAC further threaten an already fragile economic link with the Philippines. How can the Philippines overcome this new hurdle?