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China or US ? Philippines Inches Toward a Neutral Foreign Policy

Ralph Jennings

   TAIPEI, TAIWAN - The Philippines, an old U.S. ally and more recent
   friend of China, is awkwardly bouncing one superpower off the other on
   its way to a neutral foreign policy that will give the Southeast Asian
   country benefits from both sides, specialists say.

   Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin told the
   Philippine-based ANC News Channel last week "we need the U.S. presence"
   in Asia. That remark follows years of anti-American thundering by
   Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has also sought friendship
   with China since he took office in 2016.

   Like Asian neighbors such as Indonesia and Vietnam, the strategically
   located Philippines intends eventually to keep equal relations with
   both world powers, analysts believe. Asian countries with a neutral
   stance often get development aid and investment from China along with
   military support -- to resist China -- from the United States.

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