South China Sea: Marcos has resisted drastic moves so far, but for how long?

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But Marcos has sought to calibrate the American military presence in the Philippines as leverage in dealing with China.

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The ultimate aim of the Marcos administration is to steer clear of US-China rivalry while acquiring sufficient strategic capital and defence capabilities to more effectively negotiate a mutually acceptable modus vivendi in the South China Sea. But if maritime tensions continue to exacerbate, the ever-cautious Filipino president might be forced to consider more drastic measures to uphold his country’s core interests.

Richard Heydarian is a Manila-based academic and author of “Asia’s New Battlefield: US, China and the Struggle for Western Pacific”, and the forthcoming “Duterte’s Rise”