#Manila

   Japan Coast Guard security team members display tracking and capture drills in October 2016  (Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool Photo via AP, File) The sovereignty of the South China Sea has been hotly debated in recent years among China and the littoral nations (especially the Philippines and Vietnam).  Beijing lays claim to some 90 percent of the […]

Earlier this month Duterte visited three Chinese warships on Mindanao island in the Philippines—the first Chinese navy port call to the country since 2010.

After bowing to Beijing’s request to retract his decision to plant a flag on Thitu Island over Philippine Independence Day, the President Rodrigo Duterte has likely angered the Chinese again.

The unpredictable Duterte, has again changed course in the South China Sea, cancelling his plans to plant a flag on Thitu Island over Philippine Independence Day.

Under the U.S. Foreign Military Financing program, the Philippines is currently the largest recipient of U.S. funds in the Asia-Pacific region.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte latest rants have caused international concern, resulting in capital flight and drops in the stockmarket and currency.

Now that an arbitral court in The Hague has ruled in favor of Manila over Beijing’s claims to the South China Sea, will Hanoi be next?

On July 12, an international tribunal in The Hague issued a scathing rebuttal to China’s expansive claims. What has been Beijing’s reaction so far?

In recent weeks, incidents of bad behavior by Chinese tourists in Vietnam have widely circulated on social media and been reported by Vietnamese news media.

An international tribunal in The Hague has ruled that China’s expansive claim to sovereignty over waters in the South China Sea had no legal basis.

Ahead of an expected unfavorable ruling for China in the South China Sea, Beijing has been rallying both international and domestic support to its cause.

In contrast to the more vocal governments in Manila and Hanoi, not much is heard these days concerning Brunei’s claims in the South China Sea.