We are pleased to share with you our March occasional paper, entitled “Crossing Data Privacy Lines: Implementing the Philippines National ID System” written by Mr. Allen Surla, a senior faculty member of De La Salle University’s Political Science Department and the Assistant Dean for External Affairs and Lasallian Mission of the College of Liberal Arts.… Read More
Highlighting Australia’s significance as Indo-Pacific middle power
Dr. Renato de Castro, Trustee and Convenor of the National Security and East Asian Affairs Program, Stratbase ADR Institute Middle powers have an interest in preserving the international order. They follow the leadership of a relevant great power, but they do so willingly and with alacrity compared with the small powers. As a general rule,… Read More
Rendering the Mutual Defense Treaty into ‘scrap paper’
Dr. Renato de Castro, Trustee and Convenor of the National Security and East Asian Affairs Program, Stratbase ADR Institute In December 2018, Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana declared that he wanted a review of the 1951 Philippine-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT). He stated that it is high time for the two… Read More
PH maritime security and the MDT
“In vagueness lies the best deterrence.” This was how Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. described the almost 7-decade-old Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) during the joint press conference he held with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently. As such, Locsin is confident about the assurances given by Pompeo that the United States would come to… Read More
Rise of Chinese investments in Duterte’s Philippines: Some consequences
Weslene Uy, Economic Fellow of the Stratbase ADR Institute In December 2018, the Philippines recorded foreign direct investments net inflows of $677 million, a 4.8% drop from last year, and its fifth straight month of contraction. This is a turnaround from when investments continued to post a strong expansion, riding the wave of bullish investor… Read More
Chinese investment surge: Caution on The Dark Side
The Duterte administration’s much-vaunted pivot to China is finally showing in terms of economic numbers. Two years into the Duterte presidency, Chinese investments have surged to USD 195.25 million in 2018, 10 percent of the total and a far cry from the USD 10.77 million posted in 2016. For perspective, the USD 232.24 million in… Read More
Corrosive Foreign Direct Investments: The case of Offshore Gaming
Weslene Uy, Economic Fellow of the Stratbase ADR Institute President Duterte may have flip-flopped on his stance on several issues, but he has been consistent in his accommodation of Chinese investments and loans. And understandably so. Chinese money has filled the gap vacated by Westerners and has covered the funding requirements of developing nations. Critics,… Read More
