the vfa sets conditions for us personnel in the philippines.solution saying abandoning the vfa will be bad for security and the economy. the japan times front page has a piece of good news to tackle the country's rapidly ageing population. prime minister shinzo abe's cabinet has approved bills to call on businesses to let their employees to work until the age of 70. many thanks. you up—to—date with the papers. we are going to go back to us politics. we are awaiting the results from ior. in the meantime... —— iowa. lawmakers in the us will gather in washington where in the next few hours president donald trump will deliver his annual state of union speech. it's the opportunity for the president to highlight his achievements and set the tone for his agenda in 2020. it's thought he'll deliver an optimistic message, buoyed by his expected aquittal by senators in his impeachment trial, and the chaos seen during the iowa democratic caucus. joining me now here in the studio isjoseph sternberg. he's a member of the wall streetjournal‘s editorial board.

renouncing the vfa? >> he does not reflect most informed philippine national security either officials who can't talk or those experienced in it who do talk to us informally. most filipinos who think seriously about the country think that the alliance with the united states is their best bet for security over the long term. so we operated before we had the vfa. it was cumbersome. we had to negotiate the conditions of each individual exercise that we were running. we could go back to that again. in my mind it keeps, it throws grit into the gears of serious military cooperation with the philippines that it does not -- but it does not eliminate it. >> do you have anything to add to that? >> just on the port issue. it is not a matter of great concern but i think in the future we will see more logistics hubs colocated with commercial ports. i do think they're entering into these commercial agreements with the intention of expanding it at least, especially in countries where they have large bri funding, like p

the vfa it, by changing that, what you have to do the training. this is a very close ally and we would work through that. it is the protocols of how you would work together. if it would actually go through. reports on soldier suicides continue to be alarming. what is the army's approach to reducing these tragedies? sorry. the incredibly difficult problem. baffles the brightest scientific minds we have in this country. we have invested an enormous amount of money to better understand it. you, i cann front of tell you there people i know personally that had committed suicide and i was stunned. a-understanding what is going on in the human brain. are we trying to do to do better? it is us about things. our behaviors. senior leaders talking about it. telling those young men and women that tomorrow will be the same without you. and it is being a better teammate. and being what we call this is my squad. it is as much about reaching our maximum potential as it is taking care of a fellow teammate. -- that tomorrow will not be the same without you. that yo

the vfa is software of the alliance. provides legal framework for entry.this is a significant problem we have in our lives. nonetheless, president duterte is clued out of step with public sentiment. china's approval rating the latest one is -33. you've got you got 100 points difference between the two. when you look at service of people what they want the government to do in south china sea, night at a ten philippines what the government to take a stronger stance. president duterte can get away with what he wants because more and more filipinos are practical. they pragmatically welcome engagement with china. this expense why president duterte can get away what he's doing because the public is embracing some elements of his pragmatic approach. that's not the at the view. president duterte himself made it clear they're certain red lines in the south china sea, one of them is -- might be in it china reclaims or milk prices to take advantage of the vfa backing right now, that will force president duterte hands. it remains to be seen a china will exploit the cu