Manila | Australia and the Philippines have elevated the status of their relationship as a hedge against China, just a day after Anthony Albanese held breakthrough talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and agreed to visit Beijing before Christmas.

Attempting to balance competing regional tensions with the overarching aim of a stable Indo-Pacific, Mr Albanese and Filipino President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos upgraded the relationship to a strategic partnership in what was a deliberate gesture of solidarity.