More companies are opting for robotic automation of their manufacturing processes to get ahead, as reported by McKinsey & Company in 2017. Mainly, two types of robots, collaborative robots and industrial robots, are permeating the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing has been a pivotal factor in ASEAN’s development story by attracting earnings in foreign currency and investments for infrastructure-building, and creating employment opportunities within the region.

On Thursday, the Philippines announced that it was in talks with a Chinese state firm for joint exploration of the South China Sea. The aim of this joint exploration is to look for and extract energy resources such as oil and gas in the area. The proposed deal was described by President Rodrigo Duterte as a ‘co-ownership’ of the disputed areas."Now their (Beijing's) offer is joint exploration, which is like co-ownership. It's like the two of us would be the owners.

While the ICC’s preliminary examination against Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity is unlikely to change his stance on the war against drugs, much debate also exists as to whether the case will eventually see the light of an actual investigation.“It will not stop the war on drugs.

It was February 1986 when a decision had to be made by then Philippine President, Ferdinand Marcos, through a desperate telephone conversation with Senator Paul Laxalt at the White House. "Senator," a jaded Marcos asked, "What do you think? Should I step down?"Laxalt replied, "I think you should cut, and cut cleanly.

Overseas remittances contributed US$31.29 billion to the Philippine economy last year, according to data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in February 2018. Even with the recent foreign policy ban on workers to Kuwait, this seems unlikely to hamper the volume of remittances back home. Remittances are defined by the financial education website Investopedia as the funds sent by an expatriate to his/her country of origin via wire, mail or online transfer.

The Philippines was recently ranked number one for environmental sustainability by the World Energy Council (WEC), in January 2018.

In recent times, China has been strengthening its relations with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states. The two parties have agreed on a series of new initiatives to grow bilateral ties and towards the later part of this year, are expected to hold their first joint naval drills.

Recent reports that China’s military and naval facilities are nearing completion have not fazed the Philippines, who have not taken any form of military action to halt the further progress of China into the waters of the South China Sea (SCS).

It has been just over 100 days since the Battle of Marawi, the military siege that lasted five months, from May to October last year. The Manila Times reported in October that over 47 civilians and around 970 militant terrorists were killed. Conflict between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the coalition of Islamic State (IS) militants resulted in destruction of the city as a result of firefights, bombings and air strikes.

The spate of cyberattacks in the region last year was definitely more than enough reason for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to level up their game in cybersecurity.