Editorial: Philippines Needs to Get Serious on U.S. Alliance

28 August 2013 By Brian Harding – Pacific Sentinel

On August 29, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel will touch down in Manila on the last stop of a week-long trip through Southeast Asia. While Hagel's stops so far have been easy—in Malaysia and Indonesia he gave a boost to positive, but nascent defense relations and
in Brunei he attended a meeting of regional defense chiefs—the rubber hits the road in the Philippines.

The first U.S. Secretary of Defense to visit Manila since 2009, Hagel will arrive with a seemingly simple question for Philippine President Benigno Aquino: is Manila prepared to have a serious relationship with the United States?

Read the full story at The Diplomat