Philippines
Reading between the lines: Duterte’s careful South China Sea speech
Since coming to office, President Rodrigo Duterte has largely ignored the 2016 arbitration award made in favour of the Philippines under the United Nations Convention on the Law…
If Duterte likes his human rights record, he can let others look
President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines addressed the United Nations General Assembly last month, the first time he has done so since he assumed office in 2016…
Duterte’s vaccine promise is a political placebo
As early as April, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte set a P50 million (A$1.45 million) reward for anyone who comes up with a vaccine for Covid-19. Since then, Duterte has…
The killings in the Philippines grow more brazen
Earlier this month, days after Manila went back into a hard lockdown due to a sharp rise in Covid-19 infections, unidentified assailants slipped past the Philippine capital’s…
The myth of Rodrigo Duterte’s “independent” foreign policy
Rodrigo Duterte assumed the Philippines presidency in 2016 with a promise to promote an “independent” foreign policy. Yet as he detaches the Philippines from the United States,…
In the Philippines, a political dance around constitutional change
The Philippine House of Representatives opened the second regular session of congress last month, with some legislators looking to kick-start the controversial process of amending…
Commentary
Get behind Southeast Asia with clear policy against China bullies
Originally published in The Australian.
Philippines government driving jeepneys off the road
After almost four months of lockdown measures due to Covid-19, the Philippines government in June eased restrictions for the majority of the country. But even as public transport…
Southeast Asian democracies in declining health amid Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic is affecting democracies in the Asia-Pacific region in ways that demand Australian attention.
The ability to weather a crisis of this magnitude depends…
Philippines: Bangsamoro, between conflict and Covid-19
In the midst of a delicate war-to-peace transition, still punctuated by military operations, attacks from militant groups and vendettas between feuding clans, the newly created…