Like Kyiv, Manila needs to provide the US with “skin in the game” beyond military considerations. The answer might just be a disputed feature near the Spratly Islands.
The “salami slice” approach to island building in the South China Sea has worked well for China. The world risks seeing that same approach repeated in international law.
Drills will for the first time take place outside of the Philippines’ 12 nautical miles “territorial waters”, thus directly challenging China’s expansive claims across the South China Sea.