A victim of the Ukraine conflict
The raging conflict in Ukraine might be half the world away from the Philippines but its military already got involved indirectly in the political and diplomatic complications in Eastern Europe.
NATO’s Indo-Pacific interests
Allowing the United States to put up logistics hubs in the country under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) should be enough but the Philippines cannot commit combat troops in case of a conflict.
Nuclear annihilation
In 1945, Manila was the most destroyed city after Warsaw as the US battled the Japanese to liberate the Philippines. That should not happen again. The nuclear annihilation that the UN secretary-general had warned must be avoided. It should not be in the Philippines.
Questionable deals
Perhaps, the VACC was right. The new administration has to investigate what happened. The OPV deal might be a larger controversy than the Pharmally deal, the education department’s laptop project, and other irregularities in the Duterte administration.
Playing with deadly pathogens
As the battle for control of Ukraine’s eastern region, particularly in Donbas, continues to rage and the conflict in Eastern Europe enters its fourth month, a different battle between Russia and the United States is being fought on the floors of the United Nations.