Just because it’s not front page news at the moment doesn’t mean this may not be one of the most important stories in the world right now. As discussed here and here, the conflict between China and the Philippines has been escalating for most of the past year. China claims that all of the islands in the South China Sea belong to it and the Philippines refuses to comply, especially with regard to island that are within its Exclusive Economic Zone.
China has been harassing Philippines’ ships and fishing vessels for months but last week it threatened to release proof of an unwritten agreement it claims to have made with former President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte has denied making any such deal and the current president has said that even if the story were true, he would rescind the deal given that even China admits there was no written agreement. In essence, China…
