Opinion | Is this the cusp of a post-American order in Asia?

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s recently-concluded visit to Moscow (May 22-26) reflects a broader shift in the Eurasian geopolitical landscape. Though the Filipino leader had to cut his visit short, he held an earlier-than-scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where the two sides discussed ways to improve an historically anaemic relationship. It was the second formal meeting between the two leaders in less than six months.

Upon his return, Duterte shifted his focus to stamping out terrorist attacks by Islamic State-affiliated groups in his home island of Mindanao, which was immediately placed under a state of martial law. But he left his key cabinet officials as well as a large business delegation to oversee the signing of 10 major agreements and various measures to deepen strategic, defence and trade linkages between the two distant nations.

Crucially, they signed an Agreement on Defence Cooperation (ADC), which paves the way for more exchanges, training, and potentially even joint military exercises between the Russian and Philippine armed forces. The two sides also signed an agreement on Exchange of Intelligence Information, with a particular focus on counterterrorism and religious extremism, which has been of great concern to both Manila and Moscow in recent years in light of the rise of IS and its global affiliates across the Caucasus and Southeast Asia. Duterte expressly asked for greater Russian assistance in dealing with the IS threat.

The two sides have also signed agreements aimed at boosting cooperation in industrial development, space and nuclear technology, and tourism. All of a sudden, Washington’s oldest treaty ally in Southeast Asia has forged ahead with building a deep and enduring relationship with Moscow.