ABSTRACT
Between the administrations of Benigno S Aquino III (2010–2016) and Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016–2022), Philippine foreign policy on the South China Sea has seen its most radical and extreme shifts. This chapter compares the substance of the two leaders’ foreign policy with respect to their legal, diplomatic, and political objectives, with an emphasis on analyzing and understanding the unusual and off-beat decisions and actions of the latter. It identifies the mindset and basic parameters of Duterte’s approach, his objectives in cultivating close relations, and the limitations he has to work with. It assesses his policy to be transactional, high-risk, and region-centric, and concludes that his policy choices are unsustainable in the long run.
