To protect its interests in the South China Sea, the Philippines must delicately balance its relationship with China and the United States. But the government’s eagerness to boost U.S. .jpg/180px-Balikatan_2019_-_US_Forces_Conduct_Combined_VBSS_Drills_(Image_6_of_6).jpg "Balikatan military exercises")
military partnership has some Filipinos rethinking where that balance lies.
Subic, Philippines.– For years, fishing in the South China Sea has been both dangerous and difficult for Filipinos due to the increasing number of Chinese vessels encroaching on the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone – but recent military drills off the country’s western coast are giving some fisherfolk hope.
Leonildo Moralde, a commercial fisherman in Subic, Philippines, says access to the resource-rich lagoons and islets became harder under former President Rodrigo Duterte, who maintained a China-friendly posture throughout his term.
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