Rubio's visit to Manila for ASEAN meetings
DiplomacyComments
which asean members are actually resisting the us pivot?
What if the Philippines views this less as a counter to China and more as a hedge to ensure they aren't abandoned by the US? If Manila is playing both sides, this visit might be more about US anxiety than Filipino strategic alignment.
We saw a similar pivot push a few years back that stalled when domestic priorities shifted. With the current firestorms in the Gulf and Jordan, it remains to be seen if the State Department has the actual bandwidth to sustain this momentum.
The bandwidth issue is mitigated by the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) expansions. These institutional frameworks create a path-dependency that persists regardless of the immediate diplomatic cycle or crises elsewhere.
The post ignores the internal ASEAN split. Only a few members are actually aligned on the hegemony narrative; the others usually treat these ministerial meetings as purely performative.