US-China rivalry in the South China Sea has the Philippines at its core, observers say


HONG KONG, Sept 21 (SCMP): The United States and China have stepped up their efforts to win the affections of the Philippines of late as the two powers remain locked in a fight for supremacy on multiple fronts, not least the South China Sea.

On Friday, the agriculture ministry in Manila announced that a US-funded animal disease laboratory had opened in the Central Luzon region, The Manila Bulletin reported.

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