20-11-2023: In a short space of time, the Philippines has been transformed from a friendly neighbour of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), to one which is being pushed in the direction of a hostile adversary. The election of President Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr has been the catalyst for the tilt towards the US hegemon and away from an ally of the PRC and of the Russian Federation, which was cultivated by the former Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte. In fact, it is potentially much worse than just a shift in foreign policy. As The New Atlas points out, the Republic of the Philippines is being shaped into being South-East Asia’s “Ukraine” – a hapless Nazified proxy of US imperialism destroying itself in a failed war on Russia.[1] However, this rapid about turn is not being implemented in the Philippines without opposition, seemingly from such allies of the former President Duterte as current Vice President Sara Duterte (the daughter of Rodrigo Duterte) and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. While it is the case that Rodrigo Duterte and Sara Duterte have not always been side by side in politics, it does appear as though the Philippine elite are dividing on the pro-US course of Marcos Jr.

US Primes the Philippines for War on the People’s Republic of China