Philippines' Marcos arrives in Japan seeking closer security ties

Well, I hate to say this but Im digging this new President of the Philippines. He seems way smarter than the last dude.

As a scion of the Marcos crime family and a rightwing confederate of his homicidal fascist predecessor, Dudirte, Marcos 2 Bongbong, is not to be trusted by anyone outside the highest levels of government.

Most of my students can't place the Philippines on a map,and we are on the Ryukyu Islands.

Any increased connection with our nearest neighbours is a good thing.

A Japanese military presence in the Philippines could also help Marcos counter Chinese influence in the South China Sea, much of which Beijing claims, including territory that Manila considers its own.

Beijing has said its intentions in the region are peaceful.

Beijing's intentions are sinister and anything BUT friendly. The fact others in the region know this and are acting in concert to oppose Chinese ambitions of taking over the region shows China is not trusted by its neighbors. It is fooling nobody with double talk and trying to lull countries with fake assurances while its actions show the true intentions.

Jinping Xi thinks China should be the worlds leading power, and it is actively working towards that end. Jinping thinks it is China's "destiny" to be world leader. Unfortunately for him, most nations will not follow a dictatorship that represses personal freedoms, speech, and any opinions not authorized by the party. That type of government is the most unpopular with the free world as has no chance in its current form of getting the broad support needed to be a world leader. They are not trusted, plain and simple. The people of the world will never trust a China ruled by the CCP.

Japan and Philippines working together with America, Australia, India, Vietnam and others in the region through various initiatives, on multiple levels, to ensure the current rules and systems remain in place, as they all oppose Chinese ambitions of dominance.

China has its friends in a military junta running Myanmar, the Kim dynasty ruling North Korea, and its "special friend" the terrorist nation of Russia. Their little clique is insignificant in the wider world, simply because they are all brutal, untrustworthy, horrible leaders that have one thing binding them and that is hatred of the freedoms of the West and the US/Western European leadership. Hatred is not a good basis for any relationship, and it soon breaks apart.

China has its friends in a military junta running Myanmar,

Friends? No, not really. They tolerate each other. China actively supports and provides bases inside China for two Myanmar separatist groups. Why? The separatists protect Chinese mining interests in northern Myanmar. Much of the Tatmadaw actually detests China but accept they are stuck with them due to geography and geopolitics.

closer ties ?......what no shoe laces ? Lol.