U.S. efforts to counter China hurt by Marcos' victory
MANILA, PHILIPPINES>> Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s apparent landslide victory in the Philippine presidential election is giving rise to immediate concerns about a further erosion of democracy in the region, and could complicate American efforts to blunt growing Chinese influence and power in the Pacific.
Marcos, the son and namesake of longtime dictator Ferdinand Marcos, captured more than 30.8 million votes in Monday's election, according to an unofficial count, more than double those of his closest challenger.
If the results stand, he will take office at the end of June for a six-year term with Sara Duterte, the daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, as his vice president.
Duterte — who leaves office with a 67% approval rating — nurtured closer ties with China and Russia, while at times railing against the United States.
He has walked back on many of his threats against Washington, however, including a move to abrogate a defense pact between the two countries, and the luster of China's promise of infrastructure investment has dulled, with much failing to materialize.
Whether the recent trend in relations with the U.S. will continue has a lot to do with how President Joe Biden's administration responds to the return of a Marcos to power in the Philippines, said Manila-based political scientist Andrea Chloe Wong, a former researcher in the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.
“On the one hand you have Biden regarding the geostrategic interests in the Philippines, and on the other hand he has to balance promoting American democratic ideals and human rights,” she said. Marcos' election comes when the U.S. has been more focused on the region.