Can the Philippines keep Donald Trump on its side?
As problems escalate in the South China Sea, it may not be well placed to do so
In April the US Army showed up in the Philippines for annual exercises with a new weapon: medium-range ballistic missiles. China has thousands of them, but America has not fielded them in Asia since 1991. After the exercises ended, most of the American forces went home, but the missiles stayed. Philippine and American military officials say they hope the missiles will help to deter Chinese aggression around Taiwan or in the South China Sea.
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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “A shot in the dark”
From the November 16th 2024 edition
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