When Marcos Jr got elected, I knew the country would turn 180 degree. His Dad was a corrupt US proxy who ruled the Philipines like a US military base.  Soon, the Philippines will rile up the South China Sea rhetorics and give the US an excuse to install more military bases in the country while the country remains poor.  

Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia is the same but his grip on power is less certain as it is a parliamentary system and can be toppled anytime. 

The plan is to get the countries surrounding the SCS (Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia) to side with the US with the support of the Quad and AUKUS in the coming push to support Taiwan independence. 

China is not winning the geopolitic tug of war at the moment.  It may have some positive momentum currently because of the Ukraine war, US pressure on the Global South, infaltion and the realization of the US dollar hegemony.