China is stepping up aid to the Philippines, including a proposal to seek oil together offshore and a gift of arms to help Manila fight a Muslim rebel insurgency, indicating that both sides want an extra-firm friendship despite an unsettled maritime dispute. Three firms, including China’s state-owned offshore oil driller CNOOC are awaiting Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature to explore for fuel reserves under a 7,120-square-kilometer tract of water off the Philippine west coast. Last week the Armed Forces of the Philippines said on its website China had donated 3,000 assault rifles, with 3 million rounds of ammunition, to help the military fight the ISIS-sympathetic Maute Group rebels in a war-torn southern city. The transactions, alongside
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