For its 50th founding anniversary of the ASEAN and the China-ASEAN year of tourism cooperation, Philippines is tasked to execute as the current rotating chair of the ASEAN and China is reported to express its support to the country.

After a year dominated by controversy over China’s soft power forays into Australian politics, experts are warning the emerging superpower is using Australian media to exert political influence with implications for press freedom. A recent report argues this “major blind spot in Australia’s… understanding of Chinese-language media” could become “a trigger for social disharmony”.”

A historically-grounded narrative is needed to counter China’s charges, which have real implications for American and other national policies. The PRC plays the “victim” card to its advantage [...] to indoctrinate internal opinion to support the regime, to stoke “nationalism” for leverage, and to arm psychological warfare that positions Beijing as “just.”

The Philippines is quietly making arrangements through diplomatic channels for bilateral talks with China without any preconditions to discuss their competing claims in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea, Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said. The inadequately armed Philippine military cannot fight China in any battle and this is why President Duterte ordered the Navy not to conduct joint patrols in the South China Sea with the US; he said...joint patrols could be seen by China as a provocative act, making it more difficult to peacefully resolve territorial problems.

THERE ARE SOME rather remarkable aspects of the increasingly heated debate about China’s influence in Australia. First, the idea that China actually has any “soft power” to exert is actually rather surprising. Soft power, after all, is something that has generally been associated with our cousins in the U.S. — not “Communist China”.

Despite all the disagreements between the two countries, his government was looking for ways to promote bilateral people-to-people exchanges. That was why he wanted to talk to us so as to better grasp the subtle differences between Hong Kong and mainland China in terms of public sentiment towards his country.

Last week, days after The Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration awarded the Philippines a victory in its case against China in the dispute over rights to the South China Sea, Beijing began a massive public relations campaign to press its position. Part of China’s campaign includes shoring up international support to denounce the ruling and approaching other nations to voice their backing for Beijing.

The ruling by the tribunal in the Philippines vs. Chinaarbitration case is no doubt a major setback to Chinese diplomacy. No matter how people evaluate the quality and impartiality of the ruling, [...] it will not only damage China’s image and soft power, but will greatly inhibit China’s claims to territory and maritime rights in the South China Sea, and the consequences will be far reaching.