Well it appears that the Philippines is heading on a path to war. It seems to be cooperating very well with its American master. It doesn't matter what Marcos Jr. is saying in his election campaign, or trip to China, actions speak louder than words. We might be returning to the belligerent days of the Aquino administration. Yet its still early days in the Marcos Jr administration, so this doesn't bode well for Sino-PH ties.
In the last decade, the PH coastguard has the notorious reputation of using lethal force on foreign vessels it considers 'intruders'. Other coastguards would only go as far as using water cannons and ramming. But the PH coastguards have been the most trigger happy to use bullets on foreign vessels. They only found restraint against opening fire on Mainland Chinese boats, for obvious reasons.
The Filipino military, though nothing compared to the Chinese military, has actually improved during the Duterte administration. It could not truly threaten China, but it can threaten other ASEAN nations, especially Malaysia. If the PH heats up its territorial dispute with Malaysia over Sabah, it could on paper, threaten Malaysia much better today than it could in 2013. This might be the hidden danger from the PH's return to belligerency.
