Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. looks towards Chinese Premier Li Qiang as they attend the 27th ASEAN-China Summit in Vientiane, Laos, in October 2024. © Reuters
Don McLain Gill is a Philippines-based geopolitical analyst, author and lecturer at the Department of International Studies, De La Salle University.
The recent announcement of patrolling arrangements between India and China on their de facto border prompted Philippine Senator Imee Marcos, the president’s elder sister, to express her optimism for a similar agreement between Manila and Beijing in the West Philippine Sea — the term the Philippines uses to describe the part of the South China Sea that encompasses its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
