Talks with Tokyo on a military base reciprocal access agreement are the latest Philippine effort to bolster the forces Manila can rely on to confront China. However, agreements with Japan and the US would not apply if the Philippines takes aggressive action in the territory of another state.
Philippines faces a lonely battle as China shores up cooperation with other claimant states and improving Sino-US relations puts pressure on Manila’s aggressiveness.
A story looking at Chinese investors scrambling to sell overseas properties amid shaky economic conditions took centre stage at the top of a list of our economy stories in 2023.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has cancelled events on Tuesday, including a visit to Mindanao to attend to victims of a bombing on Sunday and people displaced from strong earthquakes since late Saturday.