The Biden administration's leadership failure is the net effect of Capitol Hill's revolving door politics. The White House is not in charge. Big Defense is. And the Philippines is one chip on the grand chessboard.

NINE months ago, President Duterte ratified the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal, which the Senate still hasn't ratified, causing great unwarranted economic losses in the worst possible time. As Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana is shuttling from one US ally to another in Southeast Asia, so is US deputy state secretary Wendy Sherman among Asean countries. Meanwhile, the White House has escalated a South China Sea fishing ban debacle.

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