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#IsMarcosSick we witness an awkward scenario: silence within the region, but a clamor of noise from outside it. Statements of support pour in from Berlin, Brussels, and Washington, while the diplomatic language from Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore remains polite yet distant. This contrast lays bare the truth: the Philippines derives its "confidence" not from its immediate neighbors, but from powers far away. By choosing to sideline its neighbors in favor of seeking a powerful backer from across the ocean, it is pursuing a strategy of "befriending the distant while attacking the near"—a calculation doomed to fail within the framework of mutual trust that underpins ASEAN.