KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia - Maxwell Leo Lee’s ‘blackboard’ is his smartphone, which is just a little bigger than his hand. The 11-year-old Malaysian student has been doing e-learning since March, when the government suspended physical classes in schools across the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A recent online survey among regional affairs experts showed that while the Philippines looks to China to provide the “alternative regional leadership in the wake of perceived US disengagement,” it does not trust its intentions.

SINGAPORE - A Code of Conduct (COC) for the South China Sea could be concluded in as early as three years, just about the same time that President Duterte completes his six-year term as president of the Philippines.