14 Nov 2023
Japan’s new golden age in Southeast Asia
Tokyo’s recent geopolitical assertiveness cements its position as a regional security and economic powerhouse.
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25 Oct 2023
As the world looks elsewhere, China stirs trouble in the South China Sea
The Chinese Communist Party-controlled Global Times is already forecasting “more serious collisions”. -
13 Oct 2023
Australia must act fast on joint patrols with the Philippines
Australia “recommitted” two months ago. The Philippines is waiting, China is watching – and so is the region. -
20 Sep 2023
How China sees its conflict with the Philippines
Taiwan, the ten-dash line, and an ever-present US are driving a wedge between Manila and Beijing. -
1 Sep 2023
The Philippines and Australia: A new golden era of strategic relations?
Canberra’s defence ties with Manila have gone from strength to strength. Now it’s time to step up economic linkages. -
15 Aug 2023
Pipe dreams: Turning an interconnected ASEAN gas market into a reality
An old idea for a regional network might hold the answer for energy demand into the future. -
9 Aug 2023
Overseas Filipino workers toil for the Marcos government’s bottom line
The Philippines relies on remittances to prop up the local economy. But the reports of abuses cannot be ignored. -
17 Jul 2023
It might be plastic fantastic, but Barbie lends cartoonish credibility to China’s nine-dash line
Barbie does her dash with Vietnam, showing how maps have meaning. -
14 Jul 2023
Despite the excitement, India’s South China Sea policy remains unchanged
Backing the Philippines over the 2016 arbitration award doesn’t mean India is about to abandon caution in efforts to balance China. -
28 Apr 2023
Marcos has turned the Philippines towards America – not without risks
An expanded US military presence will benefit efforts to stand up to China. But Filipinos are wary of the social cost. -
6 Apr 2023
China is its own worst enemy
Xi’s belligerence prompts classic balancing, an alignment among smaller states that would alone struggle to compete. -
27 Mar 2023
Philippines: The best friend for AUKUS in Southeast Asia
Manila has stood apart on Australia’s nuclear-powered subs deal as a sympathetic democracy seeking to balance China. -
15 Feb 2023
Reset in US–Philippines relations tells of yet another China fumble
The 180-degree reversal in Manila’s foreign policy was a consequent evolution of the previous regime’ approach. -
22 Dec 2022
The Interpreter 2022: Your most-read articles
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dominated the year. But readers also wanted to know all about Southeast Asia’s elections. -
6 Dec 2022
The US may force the Philippines’ (willing) hand
A visit by VP Kamala Harris has revitalised a military pact and shown how Bongbong Marcos views America’s regional role. -
4 Oct 2022
Philippines’ subs: the AUKUS inspiration
Manila can make its mark in the Indo-Pacific by choosing its friends, and its maritime deterrents, strategically. -
25 Aug 2022
A new Marcos gets down to business
After an easy election win, the Philippine president is facing challenges at home and abroad. -
16 Aug 2022
What the Philippines has at stake in Taiwan
Strategic choices by Manila will matter to Washington and Beijing. -
9 Aug 2022
ICC pushes probe on the Philippines’ drug war
President Marcos’ decision not to participate in an international investigation is a setback for human rights. -
26 Jul 2022
Bongbong Marcos tries the balancing act with Beijing and Washington
The new president might talk up China ties, but relations with the United States appear to be on the mend. -
9 Jun 2022
Thailand seeking to profit from a global food crisis
The war in Ukraine has highlighted weaknesses in Thailand’s policymaking and prompted cartel behaviour … again. -
18 May 2022
Philippines: justice and accountability, post elections
Dealing with the deadly legacy of the Duterte and Marcos eras will become that much more complicated under “Bongbong”. -
13 May 2022
What a Marcos Jr presidency in the Philippines means for geopolitics
A policy-free campaign in Asia’s oldest democracy results in a guessing game in the region for where next. -
12 Apr 2022
China’s nine-dash line proves stranger than fiction
How Beijing’s claims to the South China Sea have crept imperceptibly into global popular culture. -
5 Apr 2022
Bongbong Marcos closes in on the Philippines presidency
A significant polling lead for the late dictator’s son reveals a political resurrection and a fragile democracy. -
28 Mar 2022
How the Marcos family could rule again in the Philippines
In a country where the average age is 25, has collective memory been washed of the nation’s iron-fisted kleptocrat? -
25 Mar 2022
Stiffening the ASEAN spine in the South China Sea
Any “minilateral” grouping among Southeast Asian nations must be mindful of its internal contradictions. -
7 Feb 2022
Philippine elections and the politics behind it
Filipino voters go to the polls to choose who will govern them but not necessarily how they will be governed. -
24 Dec 2021
Filipino journalists can only take risks equal to their protections
The reporters most vulnerable to life-threatening harm are either low-profile or based in provinces – especially both. -
10 Dec 2021
Duterte is playing both sides
Whether in relations with the United States or China, the Philippines remains a plaything in power politics. -
1 Dec 2021
Philippines: diagnosing the infodemic
Fake news is harder to spot than ever. Young voters need to get savvy before the country’s 2022 election. -
2 Nov 2021
Filipino migrants are agents of change
Stereotypes tell of disenfranchised labour. But the experience of people abroad can seed change at home, too. -
12 Oct 2021
Ressa’s prize for resilience underscores the need for press freedom
Telling a story in the Philippines can be deadly. But if a right to know is to recover, this marks a start. -
8 Oct 2021
The Duterte double
The spectacle featuring Duterte and his daughter in the next Philippines presidential election comes as no surprise. -
24 Aug 2021
Duterte’s back-down on US forces in Philippines
After several threats to scrap the agreement giving US troops a legal basis in the country, challenges are lingering. -
21 Jul 2021
The politics of PacMan
Manny Pacquiao is famously conservative. By turning on Rodrigo Duterte, the boxer-senator wants to deliver a knock-out. -
12 Jul 2021
Whatever happened to the South China Sea ruling?
Five years ago the Philippines largely squandered a crucial legal win. But it’s not too late to marshal support. -
1 Jul 2021
Philippines: Aquino’s death marks another democratic turning point
The passing of the former president – and scion of political heroes – could remind people of the power of their choice. -
28 May 2021
How strong is Duterte the strongman?
Entering his last year in office, the Philippine president’s campaign promises ring hollow. The question is what’s next. -
21 May 2021
Duterte the defier
From “beyond compromise” to “just a piece of paper” – the Philippine president jettisons the West Philippine Sea claim. -
6 May 2021
Philippines community pantries give help – and send a message
Filipinos are putting the Duterte administration on notice that its efforts to help during the pandemic fall short. -
22 Mar 2021
Lockdown déjà vu in the Philippines
With Covid cases rising, the Duterte administration keeps doing the same thing but somehow expects a different result. -
26 Feb 2021
A Duterte dynasty?
A campaign by the daughter of the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte hovers somewhere between rumour and reality. -
3 Dec 2020
In the Philippines, a label can take your life
Accusation as a communist – “red-tagging” – is a potential death sentence, which doesn’t stop some from using it. -
23 Oct 2020
Reading between the lines: Duterte’s careful South China Sea speech
The President of the Philippines may stump up with more nationalist rhetoric, but his true message to Beijing is plain. -
15 Oct 2020
If Duterte likes his human rights record, he can let others look
An international investigation is the best way to address concern about the “war on drugs” in the Philippines. -
30 Sep 2020
Duterte’s vaccine promise is a political placebo
The Philippine president has pinned hopes on a miracle solution to the Covid crisis while gutting effective responses. -
25 Aug 2020
The killings in the Philippines grow more brazen
The recent murder of a well-known activist signals a turning point in the campaign to eliminate dissent. -
13 Aug 2020
The myth of Rodrigo Duterte’s “independent” foreign policy
By lashing the United States and drawing closer to China, the Philippines president has undermined his own goals. -
7 Aug 2020
In the Philippines, a political dance around constitutional change
Quite literally a cha-cha.