Missed Opportunities in China-Philippines Relations

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently visited Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The meeting resulted in 14 bilateral cooperation agreements, including over $20 billion in new investment pledges, as well as commitments to manage maritime differences in the South China Sea. In this episode of the China in the World podcast, Paul Haenle speaks with Charmaine Misalucha-Willoughby, Associate Professor in the Department of International Studies of De La Salle University, about the Marcos-Xi meeting, China-Philippines relations in the South China Sea, and the evolution of the Philippines' approach to China across multiple administrations.

Dr. Charmaine Willoughby is an Associate Professor in the Department of International Studies of De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines. Her research focuses on the Philippine’s foreign policy, ASEAN’s external relations, and major power relations in Southeast Asia. Dr. Misalucha-Willoughby joined De La Salle University in 2008. Her works include: "The Tragedy of Small Power Politics: The Philippines in the South China Sea," Bandung: Journal of the Global South (2020); "Contesting the Hub and Spokes Model in Southeast Asia," Asian Politics and Policy (2020); "ASEAN Regionalism: An Aspiration or a Myth?” In Cambodia’s Chairmanship of ASEAN: Challenging Perceptions, Concretizing Consolidations (2021); and “The Philippines' Security Outlook Under the New Marcos Administration” (2022).