The Philippines continues to be a magnet for tension in the Indo-Pacific due to its advantageous maritime geography and close relationship to the United States. Could this lead to a Cuban missile crisis for the 21st Century?

China wields the largest naval capacity in Asia, and has shown no qualms about deploying it to contest waters in its vicinity. The Philippines sitting so near China have faced the brunt of China’s aggressive actions, and must navigate the situation with great strategic acumen.

The Philippines, ever aware of its strategic importance in Asia’s waters, is making moves to strengthen its positions in economy and defense, the latter area being of utmost importance to Manila when looking at the flurry of activity Manila has taken in recent months.

A Philippine subsidiary to a shipbuilding giant recently declared bankruptcy. Seeing what happened to Sri Lanka’s prized Hambantota port, some Filipino strategists fear that the Subic Bay Freeport Zone might suffer the same fate.

Duterte’s Asian tilt is not so much a reaction against the West as it is a recognition of economic and security dynamics.

After five months of intense firefights between government troops and Islamic State (IS)-affiliated militants, the Battle of Marawi is now effectively over. Yet, the specter of terror in Mindanao is far from over. The Philippines may have managed to contain, at least for the meantime, the prospect of an IS stronghold in its backyard, but religiously inspired extremism and violence will continue to haunt Mindanao for the foreseeable future.

One of the biggest geopolitical shocks of Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency is the dramatic realignment in strategic relations among Southeast Asian claimant states, particularly between the Philippines and Vietnam. What looked like a promising alliance-in-the-making has suddenly turned into low-intensity bilateral tensions, with the two protagonists openly clashing over how to best deal with the China threat in the South China Sea.

China says it hopes to work with the Philippines' new government to resolve territorial disputes in the South China Sea.