Asian Waters: The Struggle Over the South China Sea and the Strategy of Chinese Expansion

by Humphrey Hawksley

The US bases had been a focus for nationalist Philippine discontent. But shutting them down didn’t bring closure about the Philippine history and its place in the world, the stigma exposed by Duterte of being treated like a colony. It was not too long before the government was asking the Americans back. For a moment, it was a win-win: America needed an extra foothold in Asia, and the Philippines needed help against Islamic extremism. The 9/11 attacks motivated a resurgence of centuries-old Islamic unrest in the south. American special forces became a fixture in training and intelligence gathering. Then came China’s resurgence and the Scarborough Shoal incursion. That not only underlined the country’s military weakness but also exposed how much the Philippines, indeed each Southeast Asian nation, relied on China for its economy.