Aries A Arugay

Visiting Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute

Dr Aries A. Arugay is Visiting Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. He is also Professor at the Department of Political Science, University of the Philippines Diliman.

A sailor stands on the deck of the USS America (LHA-6) amphibious assault ship docked at a port in Manila, Philippines, 21 March 2023. (Adrian Portugal/Reuters)

US and China fight for influence in strategic provinces of the Philippines

The locus of superpower rivalry in the Indo-Pacific has gone down to the subnational level. The US and China are engaged in a power competition for influence within local governments in the Philippines, not least in the Cagayan area.