NESRINE MALIK
Rot papered over by coronation bling
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US efforts to counter Chinese military expansionism and political influence in the Indo-Pacific took another significant step forward last week with an agreement to deepen defence and security ties with the Philippines. Yet US president Joe Biden’s success in developing bilateral and multilateral alliances may have more to do with wariness across the region about Beijing than a sudden desire for closer partnership with Washington.
Many people in smaller, traditionally non-aligned countries, worried about getting
