The Philippines is positioning itself as an emerging secondary hub in China-based firms’ global supply chains to avoid the brunt of US tariffs, but analysts are split on whether its growing investment appeal can be sustained without deepening strategic vulnerabilities in its fraught relationship with Beijing.
The director general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), Tereso Panga, said in a social media post on Monday that the Philippines was being eyed as the “next preferred destination in Asean with the emerging China plus one, plus one business strategy,” referring to the country as a viable investment alternative amid the 20 per cent tariffs imposed on Chinese imports by US President Donald Trump.