Philippine president Benigno Aquino III is probably the most frequent visitor among all foreign leaders Tokyo has received: his Japan tour starting on Tuesday marks the sixth since he took office five years ago.
The unrivaled travel frequency is indeed conspicuous against Manila's growing appetite for a more assertive role regarding the South China Sea.
According to reports, the focus of Aquino's visit is to secure the transfer of Japanese military equipment to boost capabilities of Philippine armed forces. And the perceived enemy is, of course, China, as Manila has spared no effort in recent years to play up an "imminent" China threat on South China Sea.
There is no denial that Manila has reaped some benefits by hyping the tale of a bullying China. It stole sympathy from those who are not familiar with the real situation on the South China Sea, and more importantly convinced its traditional allies to speed up the transfer of second-hand military vessels and warplanes to it.
Read the full story at Want China Times