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The Philippines
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The Philippines

The Philippines
The Philippines
Latest news, in-depth features and opinion on the Philippines, covering politics, economy, society, and Manila’s relationships with China and its Southeast Asian neighbours.
Illustration: Craig Stephens
South China Sea

Opinion | Can Manila’s South China Sea strategy of defiance and diplomacy hold?

China and the Philippines are both signalling openness to diplomacy alongside continued military flexing, but this may not be sustainable.

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ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

ICE releases detained Filipino after ‘unreasonable failures of care’

Rodrigo Duterte

Philippine senators Go, Dela Rosa helped Duterte wage drug war: ICC prosecutors

Asean

Asian Angle | How Asean can resolve its Myanmar dilemma post-election

Asean should not discard the Five-Point Consensus, but translate it into a politically astute strategy of conditional engagement.

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Vote counting takes place on January 25 in Yangon for Myanmar’s general election. Photo: Kyodo
Rodrigo Duterte

Too popular to impeach? Philippine efforts to unseat Duterte-Carpio face snags

There is some uncertainty over whether President Marcos’ allies would be able to make up the numbers to support the complaints.

United States

Philippines’ AI reckoning puts millions of jobs on the line

The US$30 billion outsourcing sector is fighting to adapt, leaving millions of workers with a stark choice: upskill or be left behind.

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Ferdinand Marcos Jnr

Philippines flood fund theft of ‘people’s money’ forces tax rethink

Abolishing the much maligned travel tax is a good start but the whole system needs an overhaul, critics say.

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Protesters, one wearing a mask of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, take part in an anti-corruption protest in Manila, the Philippines, on November 30, 2025. Photo: AP
Social media

Almost half of Filipinos willing to trust cheating partners again, survey says

The survey covers six types of cheating: physical, emotional, cyber, object and financial infidelity, as well as micro-cheating.

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South China Sea

The Philippines rebukes China over travel ban on Kalayaan officials

Beijing responds to local government declaration that the Chinese ambassador is persona non grata.

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Social media

‘We didn’t cry easily’: Philippine senator slammed for calling Gen Z ‘weak’

Robin Padilla was criticised for downplaying depression and not being sensitive to the social and economic problems faced by young Filipinos.

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Philippine Senator Robin Padilla carrying a cardboard cutout of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte on a bus. Photo: handout
China-Philippines relations

Amid Chinese embassy row, Philippines eyes boosting Spratlys population

Filipino leaders from Kalayaan and Chinese embassy officials in Manila have clashed over entry bans for personnel on either side.

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Construction takes place on the Philippine-occupied Thitu island, locally called Pagasa, in November 2024. Photo: AP
US-China relations

US establishes new army foothold in Southeast Asia to ‘contain China’: analyst

US deploys new rotational force to Southeast Asian ally, a move experts say is aimed at deterring China and supporting Typhon missile system.

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Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Letters | Why cardiovascular health is an economic imperative for Asia

Readers discuss a quiet threat to regional economies, conflicts over port facilities in Panama and Australia, and Malaysia-Indonesia border demarcation.

South China Sea

How Manila’s ‘naming and shaming’ challenges Beijing’s South China Sea stance

Analysts say the Philippines’ approach of ‘assertive transparency’ may be wearing thin at home and in the region.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
South China Sea

Leaked letter spotlights Philippines’ South China Sea tug of war

The letter by Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro warns against public exchanges that could narrow the country’s ‘diplomatic space’.

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A Philippine coastguard vessel sails in disputed waters of the South China Sea during a maritime drill. Photo: EPA-EFE
Singapore

Philippines vows aid for Filipino assaulted in Singapore shopping centre

‘It’s assault, physical assault. It’s a crime anywhere in the world, especially in Singapore,’ said a Philippine labour official.

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South China Sea

The Philippines wants to seal South China Sea code of conduct. Can it deliver?

As 2026 Asean chair, Manila has highlighted its push to finalise within its term a code of conduct covering the contested waters.

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China Conference: Southeast Asia

Ambassador urges ‘shared prosperity’ in China-Asean ties as protectionism grows

Wang Qing says both sides should uphold multilateralism and oppose external interference, even as Asean members seek trade deals with US.

Wang Qing, China’s ambassador to Asean, at the South China Morning Post’s China Conference: Southeast Asia 2026 on Tuesday. Photo: SCMP
Hong Kong tourism

‘Brilliant’ retail and dining revenue gives Hong Kong’s Ngong Ping 360 boost

Operator will introduce cable car night rides for the first time to headline its 20th anniversary celebrations.

Foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s Li Ka Shing Foundation gifts 5,000 Disneyland tickets to domestic helpers

Expanded charity scheme will treat workers from six nations to free day at the theme park with meals and transport covered.

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South China Sea

Why High Seas Treaty could change ‘rules of the game’ in South China Sea row

Effective January 17, the framework protects unique marine biodiversity and ecosystems in areas beyond any individual country’s jurisdiction.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
SCMP Exclusives

Exclusive | Manila ‘will consider’ joining Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’: Philippine envoy to US

Jose Manuel Romualdez says he delivered the invite in person to President Marcos, who is mulling the idea.

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Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez speaks during an event in Manila in 2022. Photo: AFP
Australia

Why Australia is picking up the tab for Philippine military upgrades

Canberra’s security interests are more closely aligned with Manila than those of Washington, observers say.

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South China Sea

China, Philippines hold first talks in over a year: South China Sea thaw ahead?

Philippine president rejects calls for Manila to declare Chinese ambassador persona non grata even as frictions spike in South China Sea.

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Editor's Letter

This week in PostMag: Lunar New Year and the meaning of home

As the Fire Horse approaches, this issue looks at the emotional pull of tradition – from mahjong tables to ancestral villages.

Mahjong is enjoying a revival around the world. Photo: Jocelyn Tam
Cambodia

Scripts, bank details and military rules: Cambodian scam compound secrets

Mostly run by Chinese criminal gangs and staffed partly by trafficking victims, these complexes have proliferated across Indochina.

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A Thai solider inspects a workstation inside a scam centre in O’Smach, Cambodia, on Monday. Photo: AP
Social media

Her husband was linked to Philippine flood scandal. Now she returns to limelight

Evangelista’s husband, ex-senate president Francis Escudero, is accused of receiving US$2.7 million in kickbacks from flood control projects.

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Britain

Russian captain jailed for 6 years for fatal North Sea tanker crash

Vladimir Motin was an ‘accident waiting to happen’, judge says as sentencing concludes for the manslaughter of a Filipino sailor.

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