Duterte will aim to strike a balance

When asked by reporters of his position on the South China Sea disputes with China after the election, Duterte said, "I would say to China, do not claim anything here－and I will not insist also that it is ours." Again, this is a drastic departure from his predecessor who enunciated a hard-line South China Sea policy, "What is ours is ours."

Although the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague will soon announce its decision on the Philippine's unilateral arbitration case against China, Duterte seems to be more interested in pursuing a policy of accommodation with China than forcing the issue of international arbitration.

The Duterte presidency, however, must be wary of the effect of excessive accommodation of China just to get investments, improve trade, boost tourism, and revive development assistance. Excessive accommodation of China could potentially undermine the Philippines' long standing alliance with the US.

Duterte's presidency should stick to a foreign policy of hedging by continuously enhancing the Philippine's defense alliance with the US while resolutely improving its political ties with China. In this case, the Philippine can pragmatically advance its national interests by getting the best of both worlds.

The Philippines does need to improve its ties with its close neighbor, China. But it still needs the warm embrace of its distant relative, the US.

The author teaches at the department of international studies at Miriam College, the Philippines, and is the director of the Center for Intelligence and National Security Studies (CINSS), Chairman of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research.