Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte came to office In 2016 with a jarring vision for his country’s geopolitical orientation: He would distance Manila from Washington and align it with Beijing. This plan was never realistic for true realignment and would be a complex undertaking beyond the power of one president.
However, Duterte has succeeded in repositioning the Philippines closer to neutral in the region’s great power dynamic. At the same time, the United States has kept a strong pull on the Philippines in ways that Duterte cannot ignore.