While unable to alter Duterte’s diplomatic strategy towards China, the influential and largely autonomous Philippine defense establishment is conducting a parallel China policy of its own. The result is a dualistic foreign policy, combining both engagement and deterrence.

In the contested South China Sea, there are increasing concerns about public agendas fueled by private interests. The structures of Albert del Rosario's think-tank and its many bedfellows are a case in point.

As it wrestles with Brexit, Britain is recommitting itself militarily to the Asia-Pacific, where it once had numerous colonies and today has key trading partners. But the UK’s naval actions, part of an effort to assert itself as “Global Britain,” may serve to rankle China and the broader region.

Japan’s China policy has traditionally been reactive to a more assertive US grand strategy. Yet, in recent years Japan and the US have traded roles, as Abe advanced a China strategy that cajoled more active US support. However, Trump’s confrontational posture against China should worry Abe.

China is looking to develop its polar strategies and increase its participation in global polar governance initiatives. This proactive stance will almost certainly clash with an American agenda, regardless of the administration.

Continued friction may define US-China relations in the coming years. As such, balancing ties between the two major powers will constitute the greatest foreign policy test for successive Philippine administrations.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed has demonstrated himself to be a truly independent-minded leader. With an inexplicable audacity to stand up to both the West and East in order to protect the interest of smaller nations, he very well may be the last titan of Asia.

With big-power competition intensifying in the South China Sea region, the Philippines could be dragged into conflict. Reviewing the terms of the US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty can only provide minimal security for the entangled Philippines nation.

The US should move away from suppressing China’s development and instead make attempts towards collaboration. China and the US should find effective ways to get along in a new international economic and political environment, and seek mutually beneficial collaboration in competition and management and control.

US delegates met with the Taliban this month in what resulted in the most comprehensive discussions between the two sides to date. Despite this progress, no breakthroughs were made, and negotiators must persist. Patience is a necessary attribute when on a course towards peace.