If Trump Wins, What Happens to the Philippines?

Former US President and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks at a "Get Out the Vote" Rally in Conway, South Carolina, on February 10, 2024. Julia Nikhinson / AFP

Ever since Donald Trump Donald Trump told a campaign rally over the weekend that if re-elected, he would encourage Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to European countries that failed to meet NATO’s spending targets, I started to wonder what he would say about the situation with the Philippines in the South China Sea?

He’s already said on numerous occasions that he wants to bring U.S. troops home from both Japan and South Korea, but he hasn’t said much about what’s going on in the South China Sea between the Chinese and the Philippines, where the U.S. is also a central actor.

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