Marcos Jr. Inaugurated; Places US Alliance 'Front and Center'

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was inaugurated as President of the Philippines, immediately signaling a dramatic reversal of Duterte's pro-China accommodationism. Marcos placed the US alliance 'front and center,' reinstated the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling as binding on China, and reversed Duterte's freeze on EDCA. Secretary of State Blinken visited Manila in August 2022 and called the Philippines 'an irreplaceable ally.' Bilateral military engagements increased from 461 in 2022 to 496 in 2023.