Water Wars: Sifting through the Tea Leaves in the South China Sea

Oct 28, 2016 | Chris Mirasola
View Original

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Beijing last week precipitated a busy news week as commentators and government officials tried to discern how closer Philippine-Chinese cooperation would affect US-Philippine ties and regional security. Two issues from Duterte’s Beijing visit provoked particular scrutiny: what President Duterte meant when he declared Manila’s “separation from the U.S” and the terms of a possible deal on shared fisheries access at Scarborough Shoal.