Why Duterte is in a fix over Thitu Island

Filipino anger over swarming of island by Chinese vessels recalls Aquino's Scarborough Shoal crisis

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Three years into his presidency, and amid crucial mid-term elections, Mr Rodrigo Duterte is facing his gravest foreign policy crisis yet.

Over the past three months, hundreds of Chinese vessels, suspected of belonging to the People's Liberation Army Maritime Militia Forces (PLA-MMF), have swarmed the Philippine-held Thitu Island in the South China Sea.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 13, 2019, with the headline Why Duterte is in a fix over Thitu Island. Subscribe